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Can A Church Be Scriptural without Elders?
Can a church scripturally exist and operate without elders? If your congregation does not have elders, this is a question that comes up. Let’s look at Acts 1 for the answer.
Judas is dead, abandoning his post. That post is called an episkopē (Acts 1:20) from which we get “overseer”. As the apostles were overseers of the church, elders are overseers of a church.
Judas being dead leaves 11 apostles instead of 12. Why 12? It is because 12 is “God’s Israel” (Robert W. Wall). Could an apostleship exist without 12? Apparently, because here they had 11, and later apostles will die without being replaced. And yet when God could have qualified men – he wanted 12 apostles.
The same is true for the local church. A congregation can exist without elders, but when God has qualified men – he wants elders. Just as there were qualifications for apostles (Acts 1:21), there are qualifications for elders (1 Tim.3; Titus 3). Just as there were to be 12 apostles, God also wants a plurality of men to serve. The believers prayed for an “overseer of the church” (i.e., an apostle – Acts 1:24-25); and believers still need to pray today for “overseers of a church”.
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