Thirty years ago, in March of 1996, after being elected by our congregation, I was ordained as an elder in the church my wife Tammy and I still attend. I was pleased to have my parents present at my ordination service, not knowing that my Mom would go to glory just four months later.
Our denomination has a Book of Church Order (BCO), which is part of the constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), and is subject to and subordinate to the Bible. The BCO states that within the class of elder are teaching elders and ruling elders. The elders jointly have the government and spiritual oversight of the Church, including teaching. Only those elders who are specially gifted, called and trained by God to preach may serve as teaching elders, or pastors. I serve the church as a ruling elder.

A ruling elder is to govern, provide spiritual oversight, make decisions for the church, participate in various aspects of the worship service, and shepherd those within the church. Shepherding is a wonderful privilege which includes important things such as praying for the members of the church, and visiting them at home and in the hospital.

When I was ordained we were a much smaller church, with about 80 members, meeting in a leased property. In comparison, in 2025, our average Sunday attendance was 486 and we meet in the beautiful building shown above. The Lord has blessed our church with slow and steady growth over the years.

The primary biblical passages outlining qualifications for elders are 1 Timothy 3: 1-7 and Titus 1: 5-9. The office of elder (as well as deacon) is a high calling, a weighty one, and one that I do not feel worthy of, and I’m not sure any man truly does.

Timothy Witmer in his excellent book Shepherd Leader, writes that the fundamental responsibility of church leaders is to shepherd God’s flock.  The primary means of shepherding at our church is via our small groups called K-Groups (K standing for koinonia, or fellowship). Each ruling elder in our church has specific people that are part of their “Flock”, that they pray and care for on a regular basis. The majority of my flock group is our K-Group. Our group meets the first and third Sundays except during the summer months. We have time for fellowship, discussion of that morning’s sermon and prayer. By meeting regularly, we are able to enter into each other’s lives with prayer, support and concern.

One of my favorite things to do as an elder is to conduct membership interviews with another elder. We get to hear people’s stories of transformation – how the Lord has worked in their lives to bring them to Him.

Elders provide leadership for the church, and that oftentimes means attending meetings. We also have a few scheduled times devoted to prayer throughout the week – before the first service on Sunday morning and over lunch on Tuesdays, with the latter often going for more than an hour.

Now that I’m retired from my primary vocation, I’m able to spend more time with church work. In our denomination, a group of local churches is called a presbytery. Our presbytery meets three times a year. Once a year, representatives from all PCA churches gather for a General Assembly that consists of meetings, worship, and teaching. For the past few years, I’ve chaired a presbytery committee, and I am chairing a subcommittee that is part of the group planning for the General Assembly to be held in Milwaukee in 2027. As I have written before, Tammy and I want to be “used up” by the Lord, in His work, for as long as we are able.

The work of a church elder can be challenging, but it is very important. Elders have to make important decisions regarding items such as church policy, mission, finances, and discipline. Hebrews 13:17 tells us that church leaders keep watch over the souls of their flocks, and will have to give an account for their shepherding (or lack thereof). That’s a tall order. I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to serve for thirty years, and Lord willing will continue on as the Lord sees fit.

Not all churches have elders. For example, some only have deacons, and in those churches the deacons do the work of a ruling elder in my church.

How is your church leadership organized?