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ators, beekeepers, antique automo–
bile restorers. There is an E.A.A.
(Experimental Aircraft Association)
member who is building his own
airplane
before
he leams to fly
(that's fa ith!), a jazz trombonist, a
collector of Colt handguns, a couple
of amateur astronomers, and one
fellow in Australia who has already
spent six years building his own
oceangoing yacht.
Local Church Elders
S
erving in very vital and
needed functions alongside
the 586 meo employed full
time in the ministry world–
wide-from Alaska to Argentina and
from Belfast to Brisbane- is a dedi-
cated group of men called local
church elders (LCEs) who hold full–
time jobs in business, industry or
agriculture. Although not all have
attended Ambassador College,
many of them (over one hundred)
have had sorne college experience,
and sorne possess master's degrees
or doctora tes.
16
As with those ministers serving on
a full-time basis, these capable indi–
viduals qualified for ordination by
the fruits of their lives and their ser–
vice to the local church. The biblical
standards by which they were eval–
uated are exactly the same as for
church pastors. They perform in–
valuable service as assistants by
preaching, teaching, counseling, vis–
iting, and organizing various
church-related activities. And be–
cause they are permanent residents
of their communities, they provide
necessary continuity when one pas–
tor is transferred and another takes
his place. Efforts are being made
through seminars and training pro–
grams during the summer months
and at the Church's annual conven–
tions to ensure that local church
elders are well trained to serve
God's people.
The needs of a congregation de–
mand that a minister continually
improve his skills and knowledge.
Today's minister must be highly
qualified to deal with an educated
congregation. He must be skilled as
a counselor and able to cope with
myriad human needs. The pastor
must employ many resources in
making his sermons and in-home
Bible studies more helpful and stim–
ulating.
The times demand that the minis–
try grow in its capabilities. The
Church has responded with pro–
grams to encourage and help its
pastors become more professional
and more effective servants.
Paramount in this effort is the
Certificate of the Ministry program
that involves an intensive, two-se–
mester currículum of courses in bib–
lical studies, counseling and human
development.
It
is hoped that even–
tually every minister will have the
opportunity to complete the course
plus continue an ongoing learning
process on his own once he returns
to his pastorate.
ln the past few years, the Church
has also modified its training pro–
gram for new ministers. The concept
of a ''ministerial candidate" pro–
gram was implemented in the spring
of 1977 after several years of consid-
The
PLAIN TRUTH June/July 1978