Church Council members should be:

A. Recognized spiritual leaders within the Church.

B. Committed disciples of Jesus Christ in every aspect of their personal, professional and private lives.

C. Committed to their families, fulfilling their Biblical roles and responsibilities.

D. Committed to the ministry of the Church in worship, ministry and life stewardship.

E. Aware of and supportive of the vision statement, the mission statement and ministry values of the Church.

F. Passionate about living out the Great Commandments and fulfilling the Great Commission.

G. Willing to serve as faithful representatives of the Lord and the Church and willing to resign without hesitation if involved in any practice, behavior or attitude that would bring dishonor to the Lord or the Church.

H. Willing to follow the Biblical teaching of supporting, protecting, encouraging and following the leadership of the Lead Pastor and ministerial staff, working with a prayerful spirit of cooperation, consensus building and a view to building up the Body of Christ.

I. Honest, letting their “yes” be “yes” and their “no” be “no.”

J. Possessed of such spiritual gifts as leadership, administration, discernment, wisdom, encouragement and faith.

K. Willing to commit sufficient time to regularly meet with each other, the ministry staff and other lay leaders and to participate in leadership development and team building opportunities.

L. Willing to recognize and enthusiastically support the many ministries of the Church.

M. Willing to set aside personal agendas to prayerfully seek God’s direction for the Church, both in the present and in the future.

N. Team players, capable of listening to and learning from the insights and opinions of others.

O. Willing to seek consensus.

Elder qualifications for Church Council members who serve the as “Elders” for purposes of Elder Matters shall be those set forth in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 and include, without limitations and in addition to the qualifications of each Church Council member set forth above, the following:

A. A male who is not a recent convert.

B. He is to be above reproach, blameless, faithful to his wife / husband of one wife (if applicable), temperate, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness or be an excessive drinker, not violent (bully) but gentle, not quarrelsome, not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not pursuing dishonest gain, not a lover of money.

C. He must manage his own family well and have faithful children who are not open to the charge of being wild or disobedient, and he must do so in a manner worthy of respect.

D. He must be one who loves what is good, is upright, holy and disciplined.

E. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who contradict it.

F. He must have a good reputation with those outside the church.