Presbyterian Church Government: The Local Church

Church government can sometimes be viewed as the boring cousin of theology but, in fact, church government applies theology to the life, health, and well-being of the church. There are, sadly, many contemporary examples of church failure, scandal, and even abuse. Biblical church government, while not a guaranteed failsafe against such sins, can guide the church in preventing and, if necessary, responding biblically to sin and conflict while moving forward on God’s mission in a healthy, sustainable, and Christ-honoring way. 

What is a Presbyterian Church? 

You may have heard churches described interchangeably as “Reformed” or “Presbyterian.” Both terms can be true, but they’re not interchangeable. Reformed describes theology (what a church believes). Presbyterian describes church government (the way the church is run). It will surprise no one that I, a Presbyterian pastor, believe Presbyterian church government is the most biblical and most practically useful form of church government. Presbyterian government is not essential to the being or existence of a true church but it is, in my opinion, the form of government that most contributes to the well-being and fruitful existence of a true church.

In this article, my goal is to introduce Presbyterian church government at the local level. I won’t touch much on ministers/pastors (who typically hold their membership at the presbytery level and whose duties most Christians know well already), presbyteries (the regional church), or general assemblies (the whole or national church). Instead, I’ll focus on church government at its most concrete level: the local church.

Presbyterian comes from the Greek word presbuteros meaning, simply, “elder.” In a Presbyterian church, church government is entrusted in a special way to elders.

Not only is elder the most common term for church leadership in the New Testament (see 1 Tim. 4:14, Acts 20:17, 1 Peter 5:1), it was also a recognized office of leadership for the Old Testament people of God (see, among many, Ex. 24:9 “Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up”). In the centuries between the early church and the Reformation, a lot of unnecessary complexity was added to the government of the church. The Reformed branch of the Protestant Reformation, especially in Scotland, recovered the biblical understanding of church government by godly elders. 

What Does This Look Like in Practice?

Within a healthy Presbyterian church there is no elaborate church hierarchy. Instead elders lead at every level, always as under-shepherds of Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd, and ministers of his Word:

The Local Church: the government of each local church is entrusted to their own elders, known as the Session.
The Regional Church: the government of the regional church is entrusted to the elders within that region at gatherings of the presbytery throughout the year. 

The Whole Church: Presbyterian denominations are governed by the elders who represent the various presbyteries at the annual General Assembly. 

A well-functioning Presbyterian church will have a very limited bureaucracy and will, instead, look to elders (teaching elders and ruling elders leading jointly) to minister God’s Word and lead the people accordingly. 

How does Presbyterian government foster a healthy church? 

Here are a few ways:

Plurality: the pastor does not “call the shots.” At every level, listed above, decisions are made by deliberation as a whole governing body, amongst “fellow elders” (1 Peter 5:1). 

Transparency: we’re not making this up as we go along! Everything about how a Presbyterian church runs is laid out in a Book of Church Order–especially those areas (like worship, church discipline, and changes in church leadership) that tend to create controversy in a church.

Accountability: a church is accountable to the presbytery and the presbytery is accountable to the general assembly. If anything goes awry with teaching or practice, there is a built in way to address and correct those problems. Additionally, members can appeal to a higher governing body if they seriously disagree with decisions made at the local church level. For a biblical example of this, read Acts 15. 

Patience: it is a feature and not a bug that decisions can take time within a smoothly running Presbyterian church. The form of government of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, for example, requires us to approach important questions with diligence, prayer, and deliberation. 

What is a Ruling Elder?

The idea of a special office dedicated to the leadership and government of God’s people goes back to the Old Testament: 

• Along with priests, prophets, and kings, local government was often in the hands of lay elders. See, for example, the Lord’s direction to Moses to bring seventy elders to stand with him in the tent of meeting (Num. 11:16; cf. Deut. 1:13).

• Notice how decision making occurred in Ruth 4:2 with Boaz and “ten men of the elders of the city.”

• The husband of the Proverbs 31 woman was “known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land” (Prov. 31:23).

Even before the New Testament, God’s people were governed locally (and sometimes regionally and nationally) by elders who were laymen of maturity, wisdom, and godliness.

This office continues into the New Testament:

• In Acts 15:6, when a theological and pastoral controversy erupted, “the apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter.”

• Before Paul left Ephesus, he “called the elders of the church to come to him” (Acts 20:17).

• The Pastoral Epistles (especially 1 Tim. 3:1-7 and and Titus 1:5-9), contain instructions on the qualifications for elders. 

The church no longer has apostles or prophets, but God has provided, for the well-being and health of the church, ruling elders, workers who “work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith” (2 Cor. 1:24).

What do Ruling Elders do?

To borrow from the Orthodox Presbyterian Church Form of Government, Ruling Elders:

• With the session (the pastor and the elders together), “lead the church in the service of Christ.”

• “Watch diligently over the people committed to their charge,” especially their doctrine and Christian life, even to the point of church discipline with the session, if necessary.

• “Visit the people, especially the sick.”

• “Instruct the ignorant, comfort the mourning, and nourish and guard the children of the covenant.”

• “Pray with and for the people.”

• “Have particular concern for the doctrine and conduct of the minister of the Word and help him in his labors.”

All of these duties are centered on the ruling elder’s call to be a shepherd—to love, lead, equip, and care for God’s people as one who follows the great shepherd, Jesus Christ. What a blessing faithful ruling elders are to Christ’s church!

With these weighty responsibilities, it’s no surprise that ruling elders “should be sound in the faith and of exemplary Christian life, men of wisdom and discretion, worthy of the esteem of the congregation as spiritual fathers” (Form of Government 10.2).

What is a Deacon?

Ruling elders do not, however, serve alone. In a Presbyterian church, there are three “special” offices (as opposed to the general office that belongs to all believers): minister, ruling elder, and deacon. Since our focus is on the less familiar offices at the local church level, we will next discuss deacons. All three special offices are called to the servant leadership, but deacons are especially called to service in the practical, concrete, but no less spiritual work of mercy ministry. In fact, the Greek word at the root of deacon means “servant.”

Deacons, according to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church Form of Government, are “called to show forth the compassion of Christ in a manifold ministry of mercy toward the saints and strangers on behalf of the church” (Form of Government, XI.1).

You can trace the office of deacon back to Old Testament Israel with those (primarily the Levites) who were set apart for mercy ministry and for overseeing the practical needs of a worshiping covenant community. 

In the New Testament church, the apostles were overwhelmed with practical needs in the early church that kept them from the ministry of the Word and prayer. With that real need, in God’s providence, the New Testament office of deacon was born:

• Acts 6:3: “Pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.”

• Read the qualifications for deacons listed in 1 Timothy 3:8-13.

If elders are “under-shepherds” of the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ (1 Peter 5:1-4), deacons are “under-servants” of the Great Servant, Jesus Christ. Jesus uses the same word for deacon to describe himself in Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

What Do Deacons Do?

When considering what deacons do, the Form of Government (XXV.6.a.2) puts it like this: The duties of deacons consist of:

• encouraging members of the church to provide for those who are in want 

• seeking to prevent poverty 

• making discreet and cheerful distribution to the needy

• praying with the distressed and reminding them of the consolations of Holy Scripture.

God’s people have often faced material need and Christians will continue to be in need until Jesus returns. For this reason, we can give thanks for the office of deacon.

What is a Session Meeting?

Now that we’ve introduced the two offices that are most important at the local church level, you might be wondering what church leadership looks like in practice. Where are decisions made? Where are prayers offered? Where is the Lord’s direction sought? 

When the elders of a church gather as the session to do this work of the church, they gather in a session meeting. In most churches, sessions meet at least once each month, though some meet even more frequently. Let me close this article by sharing an “anatomy of the session meeting” to give you a better idea of how elders care for and lead the church as “under-shepherds” of the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:1-4). 

Who leads a session meeting?

A church’s session is a deliberative assembly. This means that the meeting is run not by an individual but by the assembled body as a whole. Sessions use parliamentary procedure to ensure that every voice is heard and that decisions are made after thorough deliberation and by at least a majority of voting members. Parliamentary procedure looks different in practice, as you can imagine, in the context of small sessions or large sessions—some Presbyterian churches have only three elders and others have more than forty. In many cases, the pastor serves as the session’s moderator, which means that he proposes an agenda and keeps things on track during the meeting.

What does the session discuss?

According to the OPC Form of Government (13.7), “The session is charged with maintaining the government of the congregation. It shall oversee all matters concerning the conduct of public worship; it shall concert the best measures for promoting the spiritual growth and evangelistic witness of the congregation.” Because these areas constitute the mission of the church, these are the areas prioritized by a session. They spend time discussing pastoral care, new or existing areas of ministry, and the progress of the ministry of the Word.

They also have some formal tasks like receiving or dismissing members and some logistical tasks like monitoring church finances. Often the pastor gives a pastor’s report and receives counsel, encouragement, and oversight from the session. Importantly, every session meeting ought to be saturated with prayer for the church, for its members, and for the glory of Christ to advance in His church.

What records does a session keep?

Okay, you’ve probably never thought about this! But it’s worth knowing that each session has a clerk who takes the minutes of session meetings. These minutes record the pertinent details and major decisions of any meeting (for example, guest preachers, administration of the sacraments, membership, and anything having to do with church finances). In most cases, the clerk annually submits the minutes to a committee of the presbytery. This committee reviews the minutes in detail to make sure that everything is done “decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).  

What does this mean for you?

I hope this has been a helpful introduction to church government where the rubber meets the road: in the local church. If you are looking for a healthy church, I hope that one outcome of this article might be that you consider a Presbyterian church. We’re not perfect (that’s an understatement!) but I hope this article gives you a sense that Presbyterian churches have considered over many generations how to wisely and graciously apply God’s Word to church government for the glory of Christ and the good of his people. 

Whether you are a Presbyterian or not, please pray for your leaders! In line with 1 Peter 5:2-3, pray that they might “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.” 

Healthy leaders of God’s people will always know how much they need the grace of God in Christ to serve well. Pray for an abundance of that grace, along with wisdom and love, in their joyful task of leadership and pastoral care.

I hope that gives an inside look at an important part of the life of the church. If you’d like to read more about church government, here are a few recommendations:

The Book of Church Order: it’s not particularly exhilarating reading but this will give you a clear explanation of the essentials. See also the PCA Book of Church Order. 

The Glorious Body of Christ by R.B. Kuiper: a very readable and accessible book on the doctrine of the church.

How Jesus Runs the Church by Guy Waters: if you’d like to consider the biblical basis for Presbyterian government, this book, by a PCA minister and seminary professor, is the go-to. 
I Will Build My Church by Thomas Witherow: from an Irish Presbyterian pastor of an older generation, sections of this book are especially helpful to see that Presbyterian government is the polity that best accounts for the clear teaching of Scripture. 

See also: 

The Shepherd Leader by Timothy Witmer 

The Church of Christ by James Bannerman 
Gospel Eldership by Robert Thune

This piece was adapted from shorter blog posts at the Corona OPC website.