Part 1 of 3-Part Series | Biblical Study
Why God established elders becomes clear when we examine His consistent pattern throughout Scripture. When the apostles gathered the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables” (Acts 6:2), they revealed a principle that would shape local church leadership for two millennia. Furthermore, understanding why God established elders helps us see that the need for mature, qualified spiritual leaders isn’t a cultural accident. Rather, it’s God’s intentional design for protecting and nurturing His people as they gather in local congregations.
A crucial distinction shapes our discussion: Scripture speaks of “The Church”—the universal body of all true believers that belongs to Christ—and “local churches”—specific congregations where The Church gathers in particular locations. Moreover, biblical elders serve both. They shepherd the local congregation while representing and serving Christ’s universal Church in their community. Consequently, this dual responsibility makes eldership both a local calling and a universal stewardship.
Understanding Why God Established Elders: Old Testament Foundations
Why God established elders becomes evident when we examine His original plan for Israel. Indeed, the concept of elder leadership didn’t begin with the New Testament church. Instead, God established this pattern centuries earlier with the nation of Israel.
The Hebrew Foundation
The Hebrew word for elders is zeqenim (זְקֵנִים). Specifically, it literally means “bearded ones”—a reference to the gray beards that symbolized age, wisdom, and maturity in ancient Near Eastern culture. However, this wasn’t simply about chronological age. Instead, it pointed to the kind of seasoned wisdom that comes from walking with God through life’s challenges.
Additionally, God first mentions elders when He instructs Moses: “Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me'” (Exodus 3:16). Here we see elders functioning as representatives of the people. Notably, these were men whose wisdom and character made them natural leaders within their communities.
Why God Established Elders: His Design for Shared Leadership
The most revealing passage about God’s intention for elder leadership comes in Numbers 11. Moses became overwhelmed by the burden of leading Israel alone. Therefore, God provided a solution: “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them” (Numbers 11:16).
Furthermore, God continued: “I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone” (Numbers 11:17).
This passage establishes several crucial principles. First, leadership burden should be shared, not carried by one person. Second, elders are chosen based on proven character and wisdom. Third, God empowers elder leadership through His Spirit. Finally, the purpose is practical relief and better care for God’s people.
Elders as Judges and Decision-Makers
Throughout the Old Testament, elders served as judges and decision-makers in their communities. For example, Deuteronomy 21:19 describes parents bringing a rebellious son “to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives.” Moreover, the city gate was where elders sat to hear disputes. They made judgments and provided wisdom for complex situations.
Importantly, this wasn’t arbitrary human tradition. Rather, it was God’s design for how His people should be governed. Additionally, leadership through mature, wise men wasn’t a cultural accommodation. Instead, it was a divine institution that would carry forward into the New Testament church.
Understanding Why God Established Elders: The Synagogue Connection
When the apostles established elder leadership in the early church, they weren’t creating something entirely new. Instead, they built on a familiar Jewish institution that had developed during the centuries between the Old Testament and Christ’s ministry. Thus, why God established elders connects directly to this historical progression.
The Synagogue Leadership Model
Jewish synagogues operated under councils of elders called the presbyterion. Specifically, this comes from the Greek presbyteros, meaning “older” or “elder.” Additionally, every faithful Jew in the first century knew this leadership structure. Furthermore, synagogue elders maintained orthodox teaching. They also oversaw community worship and provided pastoral care for their congregations.
Consequently, Jesus and the apostles spoke about elders to audiences who immediately understood the concept. Indeed, this wasn’t foreign terminology requiring extensive explanation. Rather, it was a well-established pattern of spiritual leadership that God’s people had practiced for generations.
The Seamless Transition
The transition from synagogue to church maintained this elder leadership structure. However, it carried a crucial difference: New Testament elders receive empowerment by the Holy Spirit. They are commissioned to shepherd the church of Jesus Christ. They carried forward the wisdom and maturity requirements of the Old Testament model. At the same time, they embraced the gospel mission of the New Testament church.
Biblical Reasons Why God Established Elders in Every Church
The New Testament presents a clear and consistent pattern. Moreover, wherever the apostles planted churches, they established elder leadership. This demonstrates why God established elders as essential for church health.
“In Every Church”
Acts 14:23 provides the clearest statement of apostolic practice: “And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” Specifically, the Greek word kathistemi, translated “appointed,” means “to establish, ordain, or set in place with authority.”
Furthermore, this wasn’t a suggestion or an optional leadership model. Instead, Paul and Barnabas appointed elders “in every church”—every local congregation, without exception. Consequently, no gathering of believers was left without this leadership structure. Size, location, or circumstances didn’t matter.
Biblical Reasons Every Local Church Needed Elders
The apostolic insistence on elder leadership in every local church reveals several critical needs that persist today.
The Apostolic Succession Challenge
The apostles faced a practical problem. They were aging, dying, or moving on to plant new churches. They needed local, permanent leadership that could continue their work. This leadership had to teach, protect, and shepherd the flock.
Paul’s instruction to Timothy captures this need: “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). Local churches required a reproducible leadership model. This model had to maintain doctrinal fidelity and pastoral care across generations while serving Christ’s universal Church.
The False Teaching Threat
Paul’s farewell address to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 reveals another crucial reason for elder leadership. He warns about protection from false teachers: “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30).
The early church faced constant pressure from false teachers. Gnostics denied Christ’s humanity. Judaizers added works to grace. Libertines turned grace into license for sin. Young churches needed mature, doctrinally sound leaders. These leaders had to identify and confront these errors.
The Greek word episkopos (overseer), which Paul uses for these same elders in Acts 20:28, comes from epi (over) and skopos (watcher or guardian). Churches established elders as watchmen. They were positioned to see spiritual dangers approaching and alert the flock to these threats. But their oversight extends beyond the local congregation. They guard the purity of The Church’s witness in their community.
The Practical Shepherding Need
Growing congregations required personal pastoral care that the traveling apostles couldn’t provide. New converts needed instruction. Believers faced conflicts that required wise arbitration. Struggling members needed encouragement and accountability.
The pastoral imagery that permeates elder descriptions—shepherd, overseer, feeder of the flock—points to hands-on, personal ministry. This requires local, accessible leadership. Yet this local ministry serves the greater purpose of strengthening Christ’s universal Church. Every act of faithful eldership in a local congregation contributes to the health and witness of The Church worldwide.
Today’s Parallel Needs: Why Modern Churches Still Need Biblical Elders
The needs that drove God to establish elder leadership in the Old Testament and early church haven’t disappeared. If anything, they’ve intensified in our modern context.
The Same Threats in New Forms
False Teaching Continues: Today’s church faces prosperity theology that promises health and wealth in exchange for faith or giving. Progressive Christianity undermines biblical authority, particularly regarding sexuality, gender, and salvation’s exclusivity. Christian nationalism confuses the gospel with political ideology. Just as the early church needed elders who could identify and confront error, modern churches need spiritually mature leaders. These leaders must distinguish truth from error.
Pastoral Care Remains Essential: Growing churches still need personal discipleship, conflict resolution, and spiritual guidance. No single pastor can provide adequate care for a congregation of any significant size. The biblical model of plural elder leadership remains the most effective way to ensure comprehensive pastoral care.
Leadership Succession Challenges Persist: Pastoral transitions continue to create instability in churches. Elder leadership provides continuity and stability. This helps churches navigate these transitions without losing their theological moorings or missional focus.
Why Elder Plurality Matters More Than Ever
Our current cultural moment makes the biblical pattern of plural elder leadership more crucial than ever.
Protection Against Authoritarian Leadership: Recent scandals in prominent churches often trace back to unchecked pastoral authority. The biblical model of plural elder leadership provides natural accountability. It prevents the concentration of power in a single individual.
Shared Wisdom for Complex Decisions: Modern churches face complex challenges. Cultural engagement, technology integration, and generational differences benefit from collective wisdom. Multiple mature leaders provide better perspective than one person alone.
Accountability in an Age of Scandals: When church leaders fail morally or doctrinally, it often reveals a lack of meaningful accountability. Biblical elder leadership creates structures for ongoing oversight and correction. This can prevent many leadership failures.
Protection Against Celebrity Pastor Culture: The modern tendency to build churches around charismatic personalities contradicts the biblical pattern of shared leadership. Plural eldership keeps the focus on Christ and His Word rather than on any individual leader.
The Timeless Principle
From Moses and the seventy elders to Paul and the Ephesian elders to today’s church leaders, God’s design remains consistent. His people need mature, qualified spiritual leaders who can teach, lead, protect, and care for the flock. But this isn’t merely about local church management. It’s about stewarding Christ’s Church at the local level.
Biblical elders carry a dual responsibility: They serve their local congregation while representing The Church’s witness to their community. When elders teach sound doctrine, they preserve The Church’s truth. When they exercise godly leadership, they demonstrate The Church’s character. When they protect from false teaching, they guard The Church’s purity. When they care for struggling believers, they manifest The Church’s love.
This understanding transforms how we view eldership. Elders aren’t just volunteers helping with church operations. They’re stewards of Christ’s Church, accountable to Him for how faithfully they represent His body in their community.
The question facing every modern church isn’t whether they need biblical elder leadership. Scripture makes that clear. The question is whether they will implement the biblical model or settle for human alternatives. These alternatives may seem more practical but lack divine endorsement.
Understanding why God established elders provides the foundation for understanding what elders are called to be and do. In our next article, we’ll examine the biblical terms that define elder ministry. We’ll discover how these ancient words shape modern church leadership.
Ready to dive deeper into biblical eldership? Take our Elder Self-Assessment to evaluate how well your church leadership aligns with the biblical model.