Articles for tag: Elder Training

March 7, 2026

Wes Woodell

e2 effective elders annual conference - Lead Well From Within

Lead Well: From Within

Lead Well: From Within is an e2: effective elders conference designed to encourage and equip church leaders through practical teaching on leadership, wellness, succession, and Spirit-led ministry. Scheduled for March 13–14, 2026, the event features sessions from speakers including John Hampton, Dr. Bruce Records, Jeff Faull, Harrison Huxford, Davey and Kristi Blackburn, Jeff Reichanadter, Laura Dingman, and Dr. Gary Johnson. Attendees can expect two days of teaching, meals, fellowship, and conversation focused on helping elders and ministry leaders lead well from the inside out.

August 22, 2019

Christian Standard

THE BIG CHALLENGE FACING SMALL CHURCHES (6): Elders Wanted

By Matt Johnson If many people with leadership gifts and experience attend your church, then your pool of potential leaders is deep. If your church is comprised of people who have little leadership experience or skill, you’re facing a completely different situation. You may have great workers with great hearts, but you may not have competent leaders. It is possible this dynamic contributes to the size of the church. How can the small church cope with a dearth of potential leaders? My response is mostly anecdotal. The church I served until recently, Levittown Christian Church, is in a lower-middle-class, blue-collar

August 22, 2019

Michael C. Mack

The Challenges and Hope of Small Rural Churches

By Michael C. Mack It’s no secret that many small churches, especially small rural churches, face numerous challenges. How will the church respond? I asked Jerran Jackson—who for 40 years has served Clarksburg (Indiana) Christian Church, a small, rural congregation—to lead a team of writers to provide analysis, stories, and recommendations. As Jerran and I planned the package of articles, “The Challenges Facing Small Churches,” we discussed a list of issues leaders in struggling churches may be facing. You might use the following questions based on those issues as discussion starters with your team; each is addressed in the articles:

December 19, 2018

Christian Standard

Johnson, e2 Headed to India to Lead Elder Training

By Jim Nieman Gary Johnson of e2: effective elders is excited to offer a three-day Elders’ Conference early next year in India, at Ajai Lall’s suggestion, for church leaders from six Asian countries. “This is e2’s first venture into a cross-cultural elder setting,” Johnson said. “The men will leave with both biblical and practical ways to recruit, train, and release elders to lead courageously for God’s glory.” The groundwork for this training venture was laid earlier this year when Lall, founder and director of Central India Christian Mission, suggested it during Johnson’s visit there. “There has never been a meeting like this,” Lall told

August 26, 2013

Christian Standard

How We Choose Our Elders

By Ron Kastens When I arrived in October 2001, CrossWay Christian Church was still a very young church and I was able to help shape our elder process, role, and culture. I am grateful to the fellow elders with whom I have served during my time at CrossWay. One of the things I am most pleased with is our process for selecting new elders. When I was growing up, and during college, it seemed many churches selected elders by simple nomination and secret ballot vote. Yet as I read the New Testament, I see no example of this in the

May 24, 2012

Christian Standard

Elders: A Key to Growth in the New Church

By Jim Tune In my previous article on elders and submission, I suggested that church planters may be hesitant to install elders due to a misunderstanding of biblical authority. We”ve become accustomed to thinking about abuse and power in the same sentence. We have so many poor models of leadership around us today, it is easy to cringe when words like submission, authority, and rule come up. But a new church plant can provide a unique opportunity to create a workable and biblical model unhindered by any existing and entrenched system. At Churchill Meadows we followed an intentional pathway””one embarked

December 23, 2008

Christian Standard

A Picture of the Elders in Our Churches, Part Two

By Mark A. Taylor “Thanks, CHRISTIAN STANDARD, for being there,” one reader responded to our Year of the Elder survey published September 24. His comment was one of hundreds to support the conclusion in my first report on this survey two weeks ago: one year of articles for elders is not enough. About 400 of 600 respondents took time to give their specific answer to the question “What would help our elders do a better job?” Their replies indicate several ongoing needs among elders in our churches. Elders are facing””and sometimes failing to handle””conflict. Some replies show how disharmony is

July 13, 2008

Christian Standard

Survey Says: We Want to Stay Connected!

By Mark A. Taylor How do leaders in Christian churches and churches of Christ feel about staying connected with others like themselves? After hearing from more than 1,200 of them in a survey conducted this spring, we feel confident of one conclusion: Leaders in our fellowship highly value their connections with each other. Seeking Connection Almost half (545 respondents, or 44 percent of the total) said it is “Very Important” to be connected with other leaders in Christian churches/churches of Christ. Another 21 percent (253 respondents) said it is “Critical.” That totals almost two-thirds of respondents, while only 11 percent

June 18, 2008

Christian Standard

Shepherding: A Bigger Task Than Most Are Accomplishing

By Mark A. Taylor What is the elder”s most important job? Almost 300 elders answered that question for Arron Chambers (read his article), and more than three-fourths of them said shepherding. But in the two hours or so per week most of these elders give to elder duties, they spend less than half that time actually shepherding. In fact, almost a third of those surveyed say they spend less than one-quarter of their time (that”s 30 minutes for most of them) doing the task they”ve agreed is most important. Yet Knofel Staton concluded, in the Bible study he wrote for

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