Updated Summer 2022
At Reach, a team of Elders carry the responsibility of overseeing the mission, vision, life and doctrine of the church. The Elders are biblically qualified men who carry the responsibility and authority of leading the church together and to follow Jesus, the Chief Shepherd of the Church.
The Elder Team oversees the church by, in part, empowering and caring for the men and women who serve as Reach’s Staff who lead the day-to-day ministries of the church. Reach’s Staff Team, including those formally designated as pastors, serve under the authority of the Elder Team to lead ministries and equip the people of Reach to do the work of the ministry across the region.
In many streams of American Christianity, the most common title used to refer to the primary leaders within a church tends to be “pastor.” As culturally prominent as this practice is in churches of many kinds, the Bible itself does not provide an extensive amount of insight into the role itself.
“Pastor” is both a verb and noun in English, and the Greek word (poimaino v, poimen n) translated into English as “pastor” literally means shepherd. Shepherd is a person that protects and cares for a specific flock, and often the word appears as a verb – to shepherd, to act like a shepherd would act toward sheep (see Matthew 2:6 and 1 Peter 5:2).
However, in Ephesians 4:11, the word is used to refer to people in a shepherding role, not just the shepherding act itself. In it, Paul speaks of shepherds (pastors) as one of five, equally-important types of leaders God gives to the Church to equip saints for the work of ministry. A church body may have several flocks within it (e.g. kids, Young Adults, Men, etc.), and a pastor might be caring for one or more flocks.
Some churches and denominations have chosen to equate the word “pastor” with other New Testament concepts attached to leadership positions, such as bishop, overseer and elder. Although declaring all of these terms synonymous and interchangeable does achieve simplicity, the interpretive argument is unconvincing, and at Reach, we consider both elder and pastor to refer to different types of leaders within our church.
Elders and pastors are both considered to be shepherds, but a person can be a pastor yet not hold the position of elder. In fact, pastoring (verb) is not limited to those with a pastor title (noun). Reach’s Elder Team affirms that both men and women can help pastor the church and some will have the title ‘Pastor’ if on staff with relevant job responsibilities.
To learn more, see the following videos about Reach’s Elder Team, and our beliefs about women in leadership.
Pastors are qualified men and women who have been trained for ministry, empowered by the elders, and serve in Staff roles that focus on shepherding and equipping the people of the church.
Pastors at Reach have been trained in theology, discipleship, non-clinical counseling and Gospel Care, communicating the Gospel, and leadership principles. Most have been to seminary or studied theology (Theology 1-3 from Western Seminary), but formal education is not a requirement.
Those who have not been more traditionally trained in an institution of higher learning have at least completed our theological equipping courses in partnership with Western Seminary’s Center for Leadership Development. All pastors at Reach undergo continuing education from the elders and other leaders in the areas of theology, culture, teaching and leadership as deemed essential for effective service.
All pastors have been personally empowered by the Elder Team for their assigned role. Affirmation of doctrinal essentials (e.g. Nicene Creed, Lausanne Covenant), alignment with cultural distinctives, exemplification of New Testament character standards (see 1 Timothy 3:1-13 and Galatians 5:22-23), and endorsements from those previously under the leader’s care are all prerequisites to formal empowerment, as are interviews with at least one current elder and one existing pastor.
After being unanimously approved by the elders, all pastors are under the ongoing care and authority of the elders as long as they serve and lead the people of Reach in that capacity.