An Example of How One Church Trains Its Elders

Leadership development is one of those things that churches love to talk about but rarely seem to do. Pastors and churches need to prayerfully consider how they might assess and train men for ministry for the furtherance of the gospel. Over the past three years, our church has made significant strides by God’s grace in proactively identifying, developing, and deploying men for various ministries within our church. This year, we’ve endeavored to be more intentional about specifically training men for pastoral ministry through a monthly elder cohort. The majority of the men in our cohort have been serving our church as either teachers or small group leaders. I’ve included a summary of our cohort below. I’d be happy to provide more details or answer any questions you might have after reading our “Ox Track” overview.

The Ox Track: Elder Training at Community of GracePurpose

The Community of Grace Ox Track exists to equip men in our church to serve as elders as we make, mature, and multiply Christlike disciples.

This year-long leadership development track will:

• Cast vision for eldership and mission at Community of Grace
• Encourage ongoing, personal growth and development
• Explore the biblical qualifications for pastors
• Provide a “job description” for eldership
• Equip participants with theological and practical training for eldership.
• Give time and space to grow a genuine brotherhood.
• Serve as a means of assessing and discerning an individual’s call to eldership at Community of Grace Church.

Requirements for Participants

• Member in good standing (or pursuing membership) at COG
• Strong desire to serve long-term at COG
• A clear track record of service, faithfulness, and love for the church.
• Ability to commit the time and energy to the training for the year, including attendance (10 sessions on Sunday evenings) and preparation (probably several hours a month) for all sessions.
• Transparency and confidentiality for all participants.

About the Name

Pastors serve the church through servant leadership as they labor for the joy of their people. Equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:11) is hard, laborious work! Pastoral work is slow, steady, and unglamorous. It’s done shoulder to shoulder with fellow elders. We can’t help but think of the image of oxen, yoked together, working hard to ensure an abundant harvest in the local church.

Proverbs 14:4: Where there are no oxen, the feeding trough is empty, but an abundant harvest comes through the strength of an ox.

Where there are no elders, the people go hungry–but through the faithful work of elders, there is an abundant harvest. That’s the vision for the Ox Track: to develop and train elders to see that our people are well-fed and well-loved until the day of Christ.

Essential Outcomes

Clarity on Eldership

Ox Track participants will gain clarity on the role and office of elders. The cohort and the time given to the track allows participants to process the Scriptures and assigned readings, engage, dialogue, and ask questions so that participants know who the role and responsibilities of an elder.

Discernment on Calling

The Ox Track provides time, space, and community to process a person’s desire and call to serve as an elder. Elders need to have a calling to the work, the capacity for the work, the competency to do the work, the character necessary for the work, and the right chemistry to work with our elder team. Admission into the Ox Track does not guarantee a participant’s place on the elder team.

Cultural Fit

Our teams must work well together, enjoying and complementing each other. The Ox Track will provide space and time to discern individual fits with our elder team.

Growth Plans

At the end of an Ox Track, it may become clear that an individual has a strong desire to serve as an elder, yet the timing to serve as an elder is not right. The elders of Community of Grace are committed to clear conversation about areas of needed growth with a desire to walk with brothers on their journey to maturity.

Scripture/Reading Requirements

While our foremost authority is the Bible, key textbooks will also guide our discussions and learning as we explore eldership. Participants will read, study, and meditate on the biblical text, focusing on its implications for pastoral ministry. Additionally, participants will read the assigned chapters thoughtfully and complete all questions ahead of time in preparation for our discussion.

Cohort resources will include:

• Workers for Your Joy, by David Mathis
• Lectures to My Students, by Charles Spurgeon
• Church Elders, by Jeremy Rinne

Schedule

I’d love to hear about things you or your church are doing to train men for ministry. Feel free to leave a comment below.