The Plurality of Eldership
The ninth mark of Mark Dever’s book, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, is “Biblical Church Leadership.” He writes the following concerning the matter: The Bible clearly models a plurality of elders in each local church.[1] This assertion can be proved with numerous Scripture citations. Consider the following: “When they had appointed elders for them in every church” (Acts 14:23). “Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him” (Acts 20:17). “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching” (1 Tm. 5:17). “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained in order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you” (Tit. 1:5). “Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church” (Jam. 5:14). “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons” (Phil. 1:1). “So, I exhort the elders among you” (1 Pet. 5:1).
When studying the New Testament, we know of no church that had only a single elder.[2] We do read of numerous churches that had multiple elders. Among these are Jerusalem (Acts 11:30), Antioch in Syria (Acts 13:1), Lystra, Iconium, Pisidian Antioch (Acts 14:23), Ephesus (Acts 20:17), the churches of Crete (Tit. 1:5), the churches of the Jewish dispersion to whom James wrote (Jam. 5:14), probably the churches to whom Peter wrote to in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (1 Pet. 5:1-2), Philippi (Phil. 1:1), probably the churches to whom Hebrews was written (Heb.13:7, 17, 24), and finally the unidentified churches whose presbytery laid hands on Timothy (1 Tm. 4:14).[3]
[1] Mark Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, Third Edition., 9Marks (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 241.
[2] Samuel E. Waldron, “Plural-Elder Congregationalism,” in Who Runs the Church? ed. Paul E. Engle and Steven B. Cowan, Zondervan Counterpoints Collection (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), 212.
[3] Ibid.
Austin has been one of the pastors of Covenant Baptist Church (Clarksville, TN) since February of 2024. He holds a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Spurgeon College, a M.A. in Pastoral Studies and a M.Div from Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary.
By God’s free and sovereign grace, Austin was saved early in his adulthood. He is married to Rachel, and together they have three children: Geneva, Benjamin, and Bristol.
