What is the office of elder?

The elder is a man to whom God has given the ability and the passion to serve God's people as a shepherd (1 Peter 5:2). An elder is a shepherd who knows and cares for members of the church and helps others to grow in grace through prayer, guidance, teaching, and visitation. The elder also shephers by overseeing (Acts 20:28) the spiritual health of the church's members and ministries. The elder leads by guarding God's people (Acts 20:31) from spiritual harm and by protecting the faithfulness of the gospel as it is taught in the church. Lastly, the elder shepherds by reflecting an example (1 Peter 5:1-3) of what it means to live a life of faith, hope, and repentance as he becomes more like Jesus.

Qualifications for Elders

 Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. (1 Timothy 3:1-7)

Current Elders