The Nature of Church Government

In an age characterized by man’s ingenuity, when laud showers the application of modern business administration into ecclesiastical settings, the Bible has fallen into great neglect as a guide for church government. Churches function more like corporations than communities of faith. Many others maintain a mob mentality when it comes to decision-making. Both spectrums demonstrate the abandonment of biblical principles for anthropocentric models. Though Scripture does not make explicit statements on how churches should govern, the New Testament abounds in examples and implicit principles. This essay argues that the Bible teaches churches should govern in a congregational elected plurality of elders model.

The nature of church government rests in the priesthood of all believers. Peter demonstrates Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church in Acts 4:8—11, and Paul teaches that all believers are indwelled by the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 1:13. Therefore, the nature of the church depends upon the acknowledged supremacy of Christ by indwelled regenerate believers. Likewise, the church’s ability to govern itself and its worship requires the cooperative fellowship of believers. Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, writes, “The fundamental responsibility under God for the maintenance of all aspects of publish worship of God belongs to the congregation.”

As aforementioned, just as the nature of church government stems from the incarnate nature of Christ in the church, so, too, the authority of church government emanates from the person of Jesus. The ability and necessity of the church to govern itself rests in the church’s mission and commission. The church’s government should enhance and support its kerygmatic mission to advance the Kingdom of God. Thus, the authority of leaders is not contained within their positions and titles but within their service and equipment of the church to fulfill its broader mission. Further, church leaders must adopt Christ’s model of shepherd-like care over the flock. Thus, the biblical evidence suggests that authority is not ontological or given by the church, but, instead, tied to one’s service to the Body of Christ.
The responsibility of church government, therefore, concentrates on the church’s corporate worship and mission. Michael Kinnamon argues that the heart of the church is covenantal accountability. The role of leadership exists then to foster and enhance this aspect of the church. Alexander Strauch concurs arguing the New Testament frames the roles of church leaders in the church’s family-like nature. Leaders must operate within and enhance the sibling-like relationships that characterize the every-member ministry of the local body.

A brief survey of the nature of church government illustrates the cooperative elements of governance as well as the servant-like nature of individual leaders. Church government exists for the church and its mission. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that the church’s government operates according to the church’s nature and mission as defined by Christ and His Apostles. The establishment of the office of Apostle demonstrates the significance of church office and its application to the church’s mission. Though the office held by Paul, Peter, John, and others no longer exists, the office of Apostle paves the way for the local church’s officers today.



John S. Hammett, Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches: A Contemporary Ecclesiology (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel, 2005), 151.
Mark E. Dever, “The Doctrine of the Church,” in A Theology for the Church (ed. Daniel L. Akin; Nashville, Tenn.: B&H Publishing Group, 2007), 795.
Parackel K. Mathew, “Church government in the New Testament," CV 24 no. 3 (1981): 165-167.
Robert A. Case, "Pressures on presbytery" P 4 no. 2 (1978): 89.
Michael Kinnamon, "Authority in the church: envisioning the answers," LTQ 40 no. 1 (2005): 12.
Alexander Strauch, Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership (Littleton, Colo.: Lewis & Roth Publishers, 1995), 109.