Church Government
Elder-Led
Our form of government is elder-led in nature. We believe the Bible prescribes two offices of local church government in the New Testament: elder and deacon.
Elder
Paul emphasized a plurality of elders in the early church (Titus 1:5; Acts 20: 17). We believe multiple elders are necessary for accountability in morality, accountability in teaching the Truth of Scripture, shared leadership to avoid burnout, shared responsibility for church discipline, as well as many other benefits for the local congregation. Church leadership should not rest on the decisions of one man. An elder is a biblically qualified man who has been nominated, trained, examined, and ordained to see to the affairs of the church. Scripture gives explicit qualifications for an elder (I Timothy 3: 1-7).
Deacon
The literal meaning of deacon is “one who waits on tables”. Acts 6 records the Apostles appointing the first deacons so they could better attend to prayer and the ministry of The Word. A deacon is a biblically qualified man who has been nominated, trained, examined, and ordained to minister to the physical needs of the church. Scripture gives explicit qualifications for deacons (I Timothy 3: 8-13).