Church Governance

“Place yourselves under each other’s authority out of respect for Christ.”

Ephesians 5:21

The Biblical Model for Local Church Governance

 
The early Christian church consisted of groups of Christ followers who met together in homes and in larger buildings in their communities. They were led by people called elders. This was the traditional leadership position that had existed for hundred of years and was recognized in their culture at that time.

 
Instead of appointing leaders solely on the basis of age and experience, the church sought God, asking Him to show them who He recommended as elders to lead the church. The church is after all God’s idea and who He appoints to lead it should be primarily His call. The process of hearing from God about this was headed up by Apostles, who were leaders recognized for their heart for God, their character and their record of service to the church.

 
These recognized leaders were sent under the direction of God’s Holy Spirit to serve and strengthen churches and were named Apostles which means the sent ones.

 
The New Testament says a lot about what elders are supposed to do and has a clear list of what qualifies them and what can be expected of them. The Bible speaks of elders as being the highest form of management and authority in a local church.

 
Following this biblical model, Northlands Church is an elder-led local church. The ongoing dynamic interaction between the local elders and apostles is encouraged as elders watch over the people God recommended them to and are aided by advice and ministry from Apostles. Apostolic team members were invited by elders to minister at the local church, and during these times of ministry, the apostles honored the leadership of the church elders (Acts 6:5-6).

 
When disputes arose, apostles and elders together made decisions after meeting to consider those matters (Acts 15:6, 16:4). In agreement with this biblical example, the elders of Northlands Church are in relationship with apostolic team members of New Covenant Ministries International (NCMI).

 
We believe that tremendous good is wrought in the church when there is good leadership, and tremendous damage ensues when there is bad church leadership. How a church is led, and how leaders are appointed is therefore not a small issue. Everyone in a local church is strengthened when the biblical model of governance is in place:

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. –Ephesians 4:11-13

Attendants of the Bride

 
This concept of a biblical model of local church leadership is well illustrated by the Bible-era customs surrounding marriage preparations.

 
In Bible times, a couple would get engaged at a specific celebration. After they publicly promised to marry, the bridegroom would announce that he would be leaving to prepare a place for her, and that he would come back for her when it was ready. He did not set a specific time for his return, because that date was determined by his father who would decide when the time was right.

 
If the bridegroom were a wealthy man, he would leave highly qualified attendants to prepare the bride for his return. Obviously he would only put those he trusted in charge of these preparations! The bride honored her bridegroom by respecting the instructions of the attendants, and the attendants honored their master by caring tenderly and properly for the bride.

 
This is what Jesus means when he calls the church His Bride. He has placed trusted people in leadership to equip the church for His return. These are today’s attendants of the Bride of Christ: the God-appointed leaders of the local church – Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors /Elders and Teachers.

 
God’s design is for a great relationship of trust to exist between the attendant servants of His bride and the people who make up His bride. The attendants are servants to the bride but the bride is not their master. The bride is expected to support the leaders but they are not her Lord. Both the attendants and the bride keep their eyes on Jesus and support His plan by fulfilling the roles Jesus gave them.

 
Jesus said He is preparing a place for us, and one day He will come back for His Bride at a time the Father says is right. That will be a great day for His bride and all the attendants He gave to prepare her.