Bay Area Community Church, from its inception, has been governed by plurality of Elders. It is clear from the New Testament that the local church is to be governed by a group of men known as elders or overseers (Acts 20:28). Elders are responsible under Christ for the direction, doctrine, discipleship, and discipline of the body (Hebrews 13:7). Such authority is expressed in servant leadership rather than acting as a "lord" over those placed in their charge (I Peter 5:2,3). The function of elders/overseers carries personal and spiritual qualifications as described in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
Direction -The Elders set the overall philosophy, vision and direction of the church. To seek God's vision the Elders are to devote themselves to prayer and minis-try of the Word (Acts 6:4).
Doctrine -The Elders' authority covers the matter of doctrine, i.e., what we believe are the major issues. This responsibility includes teaching, exhorting, and refuting (Ephesians 4:11, I Timothy 3:2, 5:17-18, Titus 1:9, Hebrews 13:17).
Discipleship -The Elders are responsible for the overall teaching and training of the flock of God to the end that we may present every man/woman complete in Christ (Acts 20:28, Eph. 4:11-16, I Peter 5:1-4, Colossians 1:28, James 5:14).
Discipline -The Elders are responsible for the discipline of the believer who will not deal with known sin in his/her life (Matthew 18:15-17).
Bay Area's Elders are:
> Jeff Cochran
> Ron Dutton
> Mike Edmonds
> Warwick Fairfax
> Jeffrey Furniss
> Jim Hiskey
> Mark McGeever
> Peter Pfeiffer
> Steve Pimpo
> Greg St. Cyr
The word "deacon" indicates servant or service. The ministry of Deacons is a ministry of service. The Elders turn much of the responsibility of service over to the deacons in order to free themselves to give proper attention to the ministry of prayer and the Word (Acts 6:3,4). A list of characteristics for Deacons can be found in I Timothy 3:8-13.
The Deacon team's primary mission is to be involved in a ministry of caring for the poor and needy of the congregation, as resources permit. Their work is to ensure that the needy, poor, sick and suffering of our church are cared for in a thoroughly Christian manner, and they oversee our benevolence fund. Additionally, Deacons assist our Operations Pastor in practical service ministries where needed.
Bay Area's Deacons are:
> Les Belcher
> Rick Hughes
> Doug Lane
> John Watson
