This coming weekend, we are thrilled to join in the celebration as we have two new couples, (Mphele and Monica Tau and Scott and Amy Ferreira) joining the eldership team.
Mphele and Monica, along with their precious Naki, are primarily based at our Tableview AM congregations with Mphele playing a vital role in the leadership and oversight of our worship teams. Scott and Amy have two young boys, Zach and Christopher, and they help with the leadership at our Milnerton congregation.
The ordaining of Mphele and Scott as elders is cause for much joy and delight for us as a community, across our different congregations, as we know that these two amazing couples are gifts to our church and are given to lead us, in conjunction with the rest of the eldership team, into the more that God has for us as Life Changers as a whole!
What does an elder do?
Elders are responsible for the primary leadership and oversight of a church.
The function and role of an elder is to lead the church (1 Tim 5:17; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 5:1–2), be able to teach and preach the Word (1 Timothy 3:2; 2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 1:9), protect the church from false teachers (Acts 20:17, 28–31), encourage and admonish the saints in sound doctrine (1 Timothy 4:13; 2 Timothy 3:13–17; Titus 1:9), visit the sick and pray (James 5:14; Acts 6:4), and judge doctrinal issues (Acts 15:6). Simply put, elders shepherd, oversee, lead, and care for the local church they are appointed in.
What qualifies somebody to be an elder?
The elders of the church should be people who are spiritually mature and above reproach (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9), gifted for the ministry given to them (Romans 12:6-8), have a sense of calling from God to the office of an elder (Acts 20:28), and are in harmony with the already established leadership of the church (Philippians 2:2).
We see with these biblical descriptors four clear aspects emerging. That of character (do they meet the biblical requirements of a leader in God’s church?), calling (is there a clear and recognizable call of God that is evident by those they lead with and those they are going to lead?), competence (are they able to perform the functions of an elder?) and chemistry (is there a fit with the church vision and with the current leadership team?)
Why release new elders in the Life Changers story right now?
Key to the role of eldership is the pastoral care, direction and oversight of the church community, and with Life Changers presently functioning as one church that meets in three different locations each Sunday, a need to add new wisdom and strategy gifts to our eldership team has become key.
That said, ‘need’ is not the primary thing at play here. As an eldership team and in partnership with the broader leadership team, we believe that it is for such a time as this that God has called and equipped these two couples, to serve Life Changers Church and the amazing city of Cape Town. We believe that this moment in the life of Life Changers is not only about the release of two couples into more that God has for them, but rather about the advancing of the family and church called Life Changers as a whole into the MORE that God has for us.
We are thrilled to agree as a community of faith that both couples meet the biblical requirements and this Sunday, we get to celebrate the goodness of God to us all.