What is a Presbyterian Elder?
An Elder is called by God and a vote of the congregation to a particular job. He/she is God’s person. The Book of Church Order defines the position clearly and should become familiar to every elder nominee. The starting place is with the Elder’s personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ and by His Spirit. We start and continue to ask for God’s guidance and strength. In brief, an Elder is an elected leader.
An Elder leader makes decisions…it takes Grace led Godly thought and prayer
1. An Elder will have a particular area of responsibility (a committee and chair)
2. An Elder needs to understand where we have been (know the history of what has been done)
3. An Elder must be familiar and understand their area of responsibility through study and revising as needed in
conjunction with the Pastor and Session.
4. An Elder works and is guided by a job description.
5. An Elder works with other Elders in making policy decisions for the entire body.
a. Each Elder is responsible for building his/her part of the budget and its integration within the work and
mission of the church.
b. Work areas are often re-defined to prevent overlaps or gaps
c. We are a connectional team and work through decisions by conversations with other committees.
d. Elders are to be prepared for Session meetings through their committee work so we may be good
stewards of our time.
6. An Elder leader is a doer…one that takes action
a. An Elder has ministry to do. It is important to know how/why/when/where/who/what needs to be done.
b. An Elder is not an executive sending others to do God’s work alone but a servant leader.
i. Elders are willing to stand in the “back of the line”
ii. Elders model out mission and ministry so others will join in.
iii. An Elder’s mission is to enable others to fully engage God’s work here.
7. An Elder is an enabler of others growth! It takes time.
a. An Elder leads from the front.
b. An Elder leads by example.
c. An Elder leads by making each task clear, the need clear, the steps to complete the task clear.
i. Organization is important and necessary.
