Biblical Leadership

We are a church whose ultimate leader, “the Chief Shepherd” (1 Pet. 5:4), is the risen and living Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is coming again and to whom the church must give an account. We carry out the ministry of this church with this sense of accountability and stewardship, knowing that this is the church of God, which He purchased with the blood of His own Son (Acts 20:28). With this understanding firmly in place, we uphold the biblical model for leadership in this, the church of the living God (1 Timothy 3:15).

The Scriptures identify two offices for the church: elders and deacons (Phil. 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1-13). The former refers to the office that is also called "shepherds" (or "pastors") and overseers (or "bishops") (Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Peter 5:1-4; 1 Timothy 3:1ff.; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; Titus 1:5ff.). We believe that these terms all refer to one office. The role of this office is to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict (Titus 1:9), protecting the church body from the dangers of false teaching and worldly influences (Acts 20:29-30; 2 Timothy 4:3-4). This is the ministry of the Word, which is ever accompanied by the ministry of prayer (Acts 6:4). The elders of this church, hence, regularly pray for Christ to be exalted in the lives of His people and for the Word of God to advance (Philippians 1:12) and spread (Acts 6:7) and grow and multiply (Acts 12:24) and run and be glorified (2 Thessalonians 3:1) through this ministry.

The second area of leadership is the office of deacons. The church has other needs beyond the ministry of the Word and prayer, and God has established this second office to meet those other needs so that the elders can remain focused on the ministry of the Word and prayer. As the qualifications for deacons (1 Timothy 3:8-13) and the archetypal deaconship in the first church clarify (Acts 6:1-6), this is an office of leadership that manages the other areas of ministry that would otherwise be led by the elders (Acts 6:2).

These are the men who make up the leadership of this God's church, who faithfully, sacrificially and humbly lead this church body with wisdom and grace always with the Bible in hand, always seeking the glory of Christ in all things. Soli deo gloria!