Elder Job Description (article)

Article 10 of 5 from the Special Documents series

October 2006 - The elders are the godly spiritual leaders of the congregation. They work with the Senior Pastor in providing vision and leadership to the entire congregation.

1. They meet with the Senior Pastor to pray, to seek God's vision for his church, and to formulate strategy for fulfilling that vision.

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2. They appoint and oversee deacons/deaconesses who serve in specific ministry areas.

3. They guard the doctrine of the church, administer church discipline and oversee the administration of the ordinances.

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4. They evaluate the ministry of the Senior Pastor and his staff, offering encouragement, counsel, support, and correction where necessary.

5. They give particular attention to the pastoral needs of the congregation in order to assure that God's flock is adequately cared for.

"… If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer (elder), he desires a noble task." 1 Timothy 3:1

Expanding the Job Description

The following list contains examples of various elder responsibilities, organized under five main headings. It should be emphasized that not all the elders will be involved in all these areas all the time. Some are periodic (budget, communion), others are ongoing (regular meetings), still others are done only as the need arises (appointing deacons/deaconesses, church discipline, praying for the sick).

1. Meeting with the Senior Pastor, Seeking Vision, Formulating Strategy

—Regular meetings

—Biannual elder retreats

—Formulating 3-year and 5-year plans

—Working with the pastor, staff and deacons/deaconesses to present the annual budget to the congregation

2. Appointing and overseeing Deacons/Deaconesses

—Maintaining a list of areas needing specific lay leadership

—Interviewing potential candidates

—Evaluating the work of deacons/deaconesses

—Meeting with deacons/deaconesses individually and corporately

3. Guarding doctrine, administering discipline, overseeing the ordinances

—Evaluating the Senior Pastor's teaching ministry

—Settling doctrinal disputes

—Formulating policy in controversial areas

—Approving non-member Sunday School teachers

—Intervening in cases of church discipline

—Solving disputes between believers in the church

—Serving communion

—Interviewing potential new members

—Interviewing baptismal candidates

4. Evaluating the Senior Pastor and his staff

—Meeting regularly with the Senior Pastor

—Meeting regularly with staff members

—Conducting the Senior Pastor's annual evaluation

—Formulating vision and strategy for the church

—Dealing with accusations against the Senior Pastor and the staff

—Dealing with disputes between staff members

—Hiring and dismissal/discipline of the Senior Pastor and the staff

5. Giving attention to pastoral care of the congregation

—Praying for the sick

—Visiting the sick, the shut-ins, the prisoners

—Formulating a strategy for overall pastoral care

—Meeting individually with those who have special needs/concerns/questions

Fleshing Out the Job Description

In order to "flesh out" this job description even further, we have included examples of the kinds of questions they will wrestle with on a regular basis. Included as well are various comments they may make or specific situations they may face. Taken together, these items give you a good "feel" for what elders actually talk about when they meet together.

—What is God's dream for this church?

—What should this congregation look like in 3 years? 5 years?

—How well does our church reflect the biblical mandate of "equipping the saints" in Ephesians 4:13?

—How can we build a budget that will reflect God's dream for this church?

—Mr. and Mrs. Jones are having marriage problems. How can we help? What biblical principles should we bring forth in our counseling with them?

—A Sunday School teacher is advocating doctrine contrary to our Articles of Faith? How should we respond? Who is best qualified to explain the biblical basis for what we believe?

—Should we appoint a deacon/deaconess to oversee the senior adult ministry? Should the chairman of the ushers be considered a deacon position?

—The deacons who oversee the financial area have requested a meeting to consider moving away from a unified budget.

—We have four excellent candidates for this deacon position. Let's pray and ask God which one is his choice.

—How are we doing at ministering to singles? college students? senior adults?

—An opportunity has just arisen to buy the condo building on the west edge of our property. Let's call a special meeting to ask God how this fits into his plan for our church.

—Several people are meeting together to share their "concerns" about the direction of the church. Should we meet with them, confront them, or wait to see what develops? What Scripture passages apply in this situation?

—Two staff members can't seem to get along. Let's meet with both of them and attempt to bring about a reconciliation in the spirit of Matthew 18.

—How can we strengthen our Awana program?

—What should be our three top priorities for the next year?

—Does God want us to begin a contemporary worship service? Are there particular biblical principles that argue either for or against this possibility? If we decide to move ahead, how will we communicate this to the congregation?

—The pastor has asked us to pray about several new ideas that he believes may be from the Lord.

—We've been asked to take a leading role in an area-wide evangelistic campaign. Is this something God wants us to do?

—What steps can we take to emphasize the importance of believer's baptism? Do we need more biblical teaching on this doctrine?

—What is the special "mission" God seems to be giving to our church? How can we communicate that unfolding "mission" to our congregation?

—One of our deacons is involved in an adulterous affair and refuses to break it off? What is our first step? Our second? Our third? At what point do we "tell it to the church?" How can we apply the biblical principles in a compassionate yet truthful way?

Summary: The work of the elders primarily involves giving spiritual direction and oversight to every aspect of church life. Their day-to-day work is as varied and unique as the church itself. The one constant is that they always look at the "big picture" even when dealing with the "details" of church life.