The church and the elders should work on having a loving and respectful relationship. In verse 17, Paul assembles all the elders (presbuteros) of the church of Ephesus to give them his farewell message. Church elders are men who are responsible for the shepherding and direction of the church. What are the duties of an elder in the church? | GotQuestions.org They pray for the souls over whom they keep watch and for whom they will have to give an account. Deacons serve in churches around the world, meeting the needs of the physically as well as the spiritually hungry, visiting the sick, caring for the elderly and assisting church overseers in making important decisions. These helpers would be ministers not necessarily with the titles but with the various five-fold skills. The meeting, which was attended by the General Secretary, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi, and Apostles Matthew Larbi Wettey and Patrick Kingsley Ennin, the Area Heads for Tema and Ashaiman Areas respectively, was to explain the new five-year strategic vision of the Church, dubbed Vision 2023 (Possessing the Nations) with the officers. . 4. The function and role of an elder is well summarized by Alexander Strauch in his book Biblical Eldership: Elders lead the church [1 Tim 5:17; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 5:12], teach and preach the Word [1 Timothy 3:2; 2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 1:9], protect the church from false teachers [Acts 20:17, 2831], exhort and admonish the saints in sound doctrine [1 Timothy 4:13; 2 Timothy 3:1317; Titus 1:9], visit the sick and pray [James 5:14; Acts 6:4], and judge doctrinal issues [Acts 15:6]. 3:5). They report misconductof sinning members to the Minister, who will take disciplinaryaction against unrepentant. Among the qualifications set out for elders in the New Testament, the only gift or skill (as opposed to character trait) that is required is the ability to teach (1Tim. That involves a number of specific duties. So, what is the duty of the church to her elders? Snake Handling in Church of God 1915 Tennessee Revival, Dr. Kenneth J. Archer: If you are interested in translating our content or are interested in joining our community of translators,please reach out to us. Fifth, elders raise up elders (2 Tim. Dr. Terry Cross: If there is division among the elders in making decisions, all the elders should study, pray, and seek the will of God together until consensus is achieved. All the other qualifications, except perhaps teaching and management skills, only amplify that idea. Lake City, GA 30260 These men held great influence in all spiritual and religious matters in the church. The writer of Hebrews called his readers to obey and submit to the leaders who kept watch over their souls (Heb. For them, prayer was a time-consuming labor that inevitably caused other duties to be set aside.ii In order for a pastor to be effective in his ministry, he must be faithful to pray. Elders will give an account before God for how they have led the flock.