Elders’ Meetings
The responsibilities of elders fall into two main categories.
i) Take care of God’s church
“If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?” (1 Timothy 3:5)
This is a caring role.
ii) Direct the affairs of the church
“The elders who are good leaders are to be considered worthy of double honour, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.” (1 Timothy 5:17)
This is a governing role.
These two main areas of responsibility are reflected in two titles that elders are given.
“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28)
“Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly.” (1 Peter 5:1-2)
Shepherd points to ‘caring’ for the church. Overseer, to ‘governing’ of the church.
To ensure that we give attention to both of these responsibilities, the elders at Banstead Community Church dedicate a meeting every month to each of these. There is a ‘Shepherding’ Elders Meeting and a ‘Overseeing’ Elders Meetings.
Here is an outline of the agenda for each meeting.
‘Shepherding’ Elders Meeting
Prayer
The meeting begins with prayer, giving thanks to God for recent encouragements, and asking for wisdom as we seek to care for the members of the church.
Teaching
Elders are called to ‘watch their lives’. I spend 15-20 minutes teaching on area of an elders’ character or conduct for us to consider.
Prayer for One Another
We pray for each other, our character, our conduct, our faithfulness in living godly lives and serving the church.
Shepherding Reports & Prayer for Members
Each of the elders are responsible for 5-7 member households. Prior to the meeting they will have made contact with the member to get up to date prayer requests.
One by one, each elder reports on the members they’ve checked in with, after which an elder will pray for each member and their needs by name.
Care List
Based on the “Shepherding Reports” certain members with specific needs or who we have concerns for are added to the care list (something I got from Mark Dever).
We use a list of questions I’ve compiled from a variety of sources over the years as a guide for who should be on the list. Extended discussion of how we might best care for them takes place where necessary.
Future Elders
We go through the list of members to identify any qualified men who might be willing to serve as elders in the future.
Non-Members
Our desire is that those who regularly attend services would come to faith and make progress in the faith. This means recognising their spiritual condition (e.g. unbeliever, unbaptised believer, baptised believer who is not a member), and considering what the next step for them might be.
Prayer
The meeting closes with prayer for those on the care list, potential future elders, and for some of the non-members.
‘Overseeing’ Elders Meeting
Prayer
The meeting begins with one of the elder’s reading a verse of Scripture and praying for wisdom and for God to guide our discussions. This reminds us that God is in charge (Scripture) and our need of His help (prayer).
Theological Reflection
Elders are called to watch their doctrine. To help us to do this, I give a theological reflection based on a paragraph from the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith. I wrote about this HERE.
Ministry Planning
Under directing the affairs of the church, we spend some time discussing the regular ministries in the life of the church (weekly, monthly, termly, yearly), and any particular needs they may have. We then pray about these matters.
Future Planning
Another responsibility the elders have is to seek to discern the Spirit’s leading for the church in future. This includes discussing the upcoming preaching and teaching that will take place, as well as what the priorities for the future are to be. Time then is spent in prayer about this.
General Oversight
Some time will always need to be dedicated to necessary practical and administrative matters.
Prayer
The meeting ends with one of the elders committing our discussions and ourselves to the Lord.
Field Notes
A reminder that every Saturday I send out a Substack with 10 links from around the web worth checking out and the latest resources I’ve produced at Blog of Dan (my online Notion page).