The Plurality Principle: How to Build and Maintain a Thriving Church Leadership Team

Foundational to a healthy church is a biblical model of church leadership. In the New Testament, church leadership is rarely a one-person endeavor—it is built around a plurality of elders working together, each bringing their own unique skills and gifts to the cause of shepherding the flock God has entrusted to them. There are many benefits to this model of leadership: being part of a team helps a church leader know his role, submit to authority, learn humility, and think about his gifts and position through the lens of what serves the church rather than his personal agenda. This argument in favor of elder plurality focuses both on how churches can build a healthy elder plurality and thrive as congregations once plurality is established.