First Christian Church 

Of

Rich Hill, Missouri

The First Christian Church has followed the pattern of the early Christian Churches which God set forth through the apostles from the earliest of days.  Therefore, we have embraced the concept of an Elder-run Church.  The Elders are men chosen from our congregation. They are men who are not recent converts or men who are new members (at least 2 years active membership) to our church.  They are men who have a proven track record and who have met the qualities set forth by God, and these qualities can be seen and defined in 1 Timothy 3: 1-7, Titus 1:5-8, 2:7-8, and 1 Peter 5:2-3.  

The minister who is an elder by God's election and the Elders of this congregation are to develop and take responsibility for the vision and the strategy of the church.  The Minister and the Elders are to lead the church not only in their spiritual direction and growth but also in fulfilling the commission of evangelism to our communtiy, county, state, and the rest of the world with the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

We, as a church, believe that a job of this magnitude requires the help of the whole church body in many different areas.  The Elders have in place a board of men who assist them in the everyday running of the church known as the "Church Board".   These are the men and Deacons of our church who meet the criteria set forth in the Bible as servants and also for the posistion of Deacon.  They assist the Elders in the running of the daily church functions (i.e. maintenance, up-keep, yard, bills).  This "Church Board" will consist of the Elders and  Deacons of this congregation who meet the criteria and qualities of Elders and Deacons set forth by God, and who have been approved by the congregation of this church.  

Our congregation is required to approve these men by a vote.  The congregation is to prayerfully consider the Elders and Deacons for these positions. We realize that it is God through our Minister and Elders who gives us our spiritual direction. We also pray that the Deacons one day will have received God's blessing and training to become Elders in the future. 

We, therefore, adhere to the truth that God's Holy word is final in all matters. We believe that the Minister and Elders who have met these qualities and criteria will lead us in a way that we will be able to fulfill God's commands, and in doing so we will bring glory and honor to His Holy Name. We believe that the Deacons which we have called to help the Elders in the everyday matters of the church will also adhere to the qualities and criteria set forth in the Bible.

Because we believe that the Minister and the Elders have such an important task in our lives and in God's purpose of spreading the gospel we pray for them daily.  We also believe that the everyday matters of running this church are important and we, therefore, pray for our board with equal fervor.  We ask God to continually watch over each and everyone of them, imparting wisdom, strength, vision, and the stamina to serve our Lord for His glory.

Because these are positions of such great importance in the church and which require Godly men to fulfill the required tasks for these offices of the kingdom of God we will not knowingly place or vote anyone into these positions who do not meet the qualifications for Elder or Deacon set forth by God.  We will not fill a position just because of a vacancy if God has not provided us with a candidate who is of good quality and character and does not meet the requirements set forth by God. That position will remain empty until a qualified candidate comes forth.