"For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you."
Titus 1:5 (NKJV)Who Are the Elders?
The elders of the church are not simply older members — they are spiritually mature, proven leaders who carry responsibility for the oversight, direction, and wellbeing of the local body. The New Testament uses three related terms: presbuteros (elder — emphasizing maturity and dignity), episkopos (overseer/bishop — emphasizing function and responsibility), and poimen (shepherd/pastor — emphasizing care). These terms describe the same office from different angles.
Paul instructed both Titus and Timothy to appoint elders in every church, giving detailed qualifications in Titus 1:6-9 and 1 Timothy 3:1-7. Elders are not elected by popularity — they are recognized by their character, their household management, their teaching ability, and their maturity in the faith.
The Qualifications of an Elder
Paul lists the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Key among them:
- Above reproach — a blameless reputation
- The husband of one wife (faithful in marriage)
- Temperate, self-controlled, sober-minded
- Respectable, hospitable
- Able to teach
- Not given to wine or violence
- Not a lover of money
- Managing his own household well
- Not a new convert
- Having a good reputation outside the church
"The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock."
1 Peter 5:1–3 (NKJV)Eldership and the Five-Fold Ministry
The eldership structure relates to but is distinct from the five-fold ministry gifts. A five-fold minister may serve as an elder — and often does — but not all elders carry a five-fold office. Elders provide local governance, stability, and pastoral oversight; the five-fold gifts provide equipping, revelation, and kingdom advancement. Both are essential, and they function best when they work together in honor and submission to one another.
Healthy churches recognize both structures: the governing elders who protect and steward the local body, and the five-fold ministers who equip and release the saints. When these are in right relationship, the church flourishes.