What We Believe About Leadership

We teach that Christ is the Head of the Church and is the supreme authority for the church (1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 1:22; Col. 1:18). We teach that there are two offices of leadership given to a church: elders and deacons (1 Tim. 3) – both of whom must be spiritually qualified (Titus 1:5-9). As leaders lead or rule as servants of Christ (1 Tim. 5:17-22), the congregation is to submit to their leadership (Heb. 13:7, 17).

We teach the plurality of elders (Acts 14:23; 20:17; James 5:14). "Elders," "bishops," or "pastors" (all synonyms) are to shepherd the flock by feeding them the word (Acts 6:4; Ezek. 34:2-10), leading them by example (1 Pet. 5:3; Jer. 23:1-4; Ps. 78:72), protecting them from false teaching (Acts 20:28), tending the flock (John 21:15-17), and praying for them. They are to be spiritually qualified (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1), gifted, and called to shepherd.

Deacons are spiritually qualified men who serve in the spiritual capacity of ministering to the physical needs of the church and protect the priorities of the elders so that they do not neglect the ministry of the Word and prayer (Acts 6:1-7).