PURPOSE

Seymour Church gives glory to God by following the Father’s call to become mature through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Elder Board exists to advance this purpose of Seymour Church by exercising leadership in those tasks which belong distinctively to the office of elder as defined by the Church Order of the Christian Reformed Church.

MEMBERSHIP

Elders and pastors are members of the Elder Board by virtue of their office. Elders (both administrative elders and shepherd elders) will be selected through the approved nomination process and serve a three-year term.

Seven (7) Shepherd Elders and three (3) Administrative Elders will serve on the Elder Board.
The administrative elder who serves as the chairperson of the Council will also serve as the chairperson of the Elder Board.
The administrative elder who serves as the clerk of the Council will also serve as the clerk of the Elder Board.
The administrative elder who serves as vicar of the Council will also serve as vicar of the Elder Board.
The Pastor of Worship and Administration will serve as the pastoral advisor to the Elder Board.

MEETINGS

The Elder Board will ordinarily meet on the second Monday in the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December. The meetings will be from 7:00 to 8:30 PM (and will be followed by the Council meeting from 8:30 to 10:00 PM).

ACCOUNTABILITY

The Elder Board is directly accountable to the Council of Seymour Church to which it will report by means of a set of minutes edited for confidentiality.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The responsibilities of the Elder Board include the following:

  • Pray for the staff, ministries and mission of Seymour Church.
  • Conduct its work according to the Church Order of the Christian Reformed Church.
  • Exercise discerning oversight to the worship, evangelism, and faith nurture ministries of the church.
  • Attend to the spiritual formation of the pastors, office-holders, staff, and members of the congregation.
  • Oversee all membership matters, including professions of faith.
  • Exercise church discipline.
  • Discuss, deliberate, and discern concerns such as the spiritual health of the congregation as it relates to the mission, vision, & strategic ministry plan for Seymour Church.