What is an Elder?
In the New Testament, men known as elders oversaw congregations of God’s people. According to the Bible (Acts 14:23; Phil 1:1; Titus 1:5), the orderly arrangement of the church entailed the ordaining of qualified men to a duly appointed eldership. The elders were known as bishops, pastors, presbyters, overseers, and shepherds. These six English terms are used interchangeably and all of their corresponding Greek terms are found in Acts 20:17,28 and 1 Peter 5:1-2. Each individual member of this office is to be qualified for this work by the criteria identified in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. We commend the following qualified men to you as pastors, bishops, elders/overseers, presbyters, and shepherds of the flock at the Central church of Christ.