Agape Family Fellowship functions as a body in unity and love. It is led by a ministry team.
This team includes the following parts: Pastors, Elders, and Ministry Leaders.
This team includes the following parts: Pastors, Elders, and Ministry Leaders.
P A S T O R
A pastor is a man who lives out 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. He is a man who is day by day growing closer to God. Further, he must have a calling by God which is a very high personal sense of having been summoned by God for this task (Acts 20:28, 1 Timothy 1:12, Colossians 1:25). His responsibility is to serve, leading both with his life and his words. He must be able to teach, to protect, and to encourage all those who are under his care. He is also responsible for developing leaders within the church family. The pastor is accountable ultimately to God, but also to the other elders. He is himself also an elder.
Should a new pastor be needed, the elders will do careful research and pray fervently before selecting someone. They will then ask the Covenant Community to affirm that person.
Should a new pastor be needed, the elders will do careful research and pray fervently before selecting someone. They will then ask the Covenant Community to affirm that person.
E L D E R
The ministry of Agape Family Fellowship is to be under the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ by means of the Elders. Just as the Pastor, he is a man who lives out 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. The elders are to oversee the whole of AGAPE and must be fervent about God’s word, prayer, and shepherding. They must be students of God’s word and able to teach it. Teaching can take place in large groups or on an individual level. They must be devoted to prayer. They must be committed to the good of the AGAPE family.
They step in when there are struggles, especially of the disunity kind. The elders live the kind of lives others in the family can model and imitate. There is mutual submission and accountability to the other elders (Acts 6:4, 1 Peter 5:1-4).
When a new elder is needed or desired a candidate is selected by the pastor, affirmed by the elders, and then affirmed by the AGAPE Covenant Community. This will take place with much prayer. There is no term limit for an elder. They can serve as long as they have the desire, as long as they are able to serve effectively, and they continue to be qualified.
If any accusation is brought against an elder concerning a moral charge or other serious character or behavioral problem, it will be addressed with the existing elders and the person bringing the charge. They will then make the necessary decisions regarding the situation (1 Timothy 5:19-20, Galatians 6:1, Matthew 18:15-17). Any crucial information will be communicated to Covenant Community. If there are larger issues that need to be addressed, the elder board will invite the Jefferson Baptist Church elder board to help in oversight.
They step in when there are struggles, especially of the disunity kind. The elders live the kind of lives others in the family can model and imitate. There is mutual submission and accountability to the other elders (Acts 6:4, 1 Peter 5:1-4).
When a new elder is needed or desired a candidate is selected by the pastor, affirmed by the elders, and then affirmed by the AGAPE Covenant Community. This will take place with much prayer. There is no term limit for an elder. They can serve as long as they have the desire, as long as they are able to serve effectively, and they continue to be qualified.
If any accusation is brought against an elder concerning a moral charge or other serious character or behavioral problem, it will be addressed with the existing elders and the person bringing the charge. They will then make the necessary decisions regarding the situation (1 Timothy 5:19-20, Galatians 6:1, Matthew 18:15-17). Any crucial information will be communicated to Covenant Community. If there are larger issues that need to be addressed, the elder board will invite the Jefferson Baptist Church elder board to help in oversight.
M I N I S T R Y L E A D E R
This is someone who is directly involved in leading ministries. These will meet the standards in 1 Timothy 3:8ff. They will “shepherd” the areas within their responsibility. The Pastor will provide assistance in whatever ways possible, but he will encourage them to have vision for their ministry and plan how to make it happen (Acts 6:4).