The Elders of each church corporately make decisions about the long- term, spiritual, and operational direction of the church. They are to shepherd the church in its spiritual health. The elders are, in our denomination, called the ‘session’ of the church. Elders are qualified by meeting the biblical standards for eldership in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 2:

1. The husband of one wife

2. Above reproach

3. Sober-minded

4. Respectable

5. Not a drunkard

6. Gentle

7. Not quarrelsome

8. Generous

9. Must manage his household well

10. Not a recent convert

11. Well thought of by outsiders

12. Able to teach

13. Self-controlled 

14. Hospitable

15. Filled with the Spirit and manifesting the fruit of the Spirit

Elders must fulfill the spiritual duties of a shepherd:

1. Visiting the sick

2. Teaching and guarding right doctrine

3. Setting a worthy example to the congregation

4. Sharing their faith zealously

5. Opening their home in generous hospitality

6. Caring for the hurting and the broken, and the spiritual needs of the people 

7. Disciplining those in open, unrepentant sin

Deacons are an office of service and sympathy. Deacons are to minister to those in need, develop the faithful giving of the congregation, and care for the property of the church. Deacons operate under the authority and supervision of the elders. Deacons are qualified by meeting nearly identical standards of character to those of elder, with the notable exception that they are not necessarily able to teach. While the elders are given the responsibility to lead, and the deacons to serve, both are to operate from the example of our Lord, as servant leaders.