First, we do not have a \u201cpastor.\u201d We believe that pastoring (or shepherding) is a spiritual gift, not an office (see Eph. 4:11). We actually have several people who carry out shepherding ministry for all those who are part of Believers\u2019 Fellowship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Second, we believe that the New Testament teaches that governing in the local church is to be done by a plurality of elders, each with equal input in decisions. Such men (also known as \u201coverseers\u201d) have the final say in all the affairs of the local church. Some people may think that a local church is incomplete if it doesn\u2019t have a \u201cpastor.\u201d In reality, the Lord Jesus Christ wants to function as the Chief Shepherd or Pastor of the local church. The elders rule and shepherd under Him (1 Pet. 5:1\u20114), seeking His will and direction. According to the New Testament, that is the very best kind of structure and is absolutely complete in God\u2019s sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Third, we are looking to God to provide for us deacons, men who can care for the physical affairs of our life together. In part, their job is to free elders for teaching and pastoral ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For additional information about our local church, see Choosing a Local Church<\/a>, Nature of the Church<\/a>, or Advantages of the New Testament Church<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" First, we do not have a \u201cpastor.\u201d We believe that pastoring (or shepherding) is a spiritual gift, not an office (see Eph. 4:11). We actually have several people who carry out shepherding ministry for all those who are part of Believers\u2019 Fellowship. Second, we believe that the New Testament teaches that governing in the local … [Read more…]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":106,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["entry","page","publish","author-belfel_pkhobe","post-11"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/belfel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/belfel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/belfel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belfel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belfel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/belfel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2765,"href":"https:\/\/belfel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11\/revisions\/2765"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belfel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/belfel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}