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Leadership Structure
The Bible places a high premium on proper leadership being set up within the local church. Ultimate authority for the church falls to Jesus Christ himself. On a local level, leadership is appointed through his sovereignty. The two leadership positions meant for a local church are elders (also called pastors) and deacons.
Elders:
Elders are the leaders of the church, and they are given a great responsibility: to shepherd the flock of God which the Lord Jesus purchased with his own blood. This means that they are called to provide direction for the church's operations, teach God’s word to his people publicly and privately, and to ensure the well-being of the entire congregation. The congregation in turn is called lovingly and humbly to submit to the elders’ leadership.
To help ensure and facilitate the care of everyone in the church, our members are divided up into what we call "sheepfolds." These are groups of people that are cared for by a particular elder. Elders keep up with the individuals and families in their sheepfolds on a regular basis. This gives everyone greater opportunity to be helped by a pastor, keeps them further accountable, and makes sure no one gets left behind.
Deacons:
Deacons are the caretakers in the church. Or perhaps more accurately, they are the officers who facilitate caretaking within the church. While the elders are primarily concerned with the teaching of God’s word and praying for the people, there are a wide variety of physical needs within the church and in any given community. The role of deacon exists to make sure that the church meets these needs. They are in charge of the church's mercy ministry.
Hopefully you've already met some of our current leadership on the bios page. If you want to find out more about our mercy ministry, visit the Mercy Ministry page. If you'd like to find out how we train new leadership, you can read about The Institute for Pastoral Ministry.
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