What is an Elder? What are our expectations of an Elder at SWBC? 

• Our Eldership provide spiritual oversight for our church, and primarily lead through wisdom and discernment to empower and hold accountable our pastors. Eldership at SWBC is a governance role, not a management role.

What is our nomination process for Eldership? 

• Members of SWBC can nominate the names of people they believe have the spiritual wisdom, governance skill and commitment to the church vision and values (either via an online form or paper nomination form from Reception or the Welcome Centre). Our constitution states that names for consideration for Eldership can be submitted up to two weeks prior to our AGM. 

• For many years (including under our two previous Senior Pastors) we have established an Elders Nomination Committee to support the nomination process. The Nomination Committee will prayerfully consider and discern all nominated names and the names of existing Elders who are willing to stand again, ensuring they meet the required criteria and skill mix. They come to a consensus about who to approach to ask if they are willing to have their name considered. The Nomination Committee then decide on the final list of names to present to the church for ratification at the next AGM. You can read about this process in more detail here.

Who decides who is on the Elders Nomination Committee?

• Our current Elders decide who will be on the Elders Nomination Committee. In some churches, the current Elders complete the role of this committee themselves, however at SWBC we have opted to have other individuals involved in this process.
  
  

Is SWBC’s process of selecting Elders the same as other Baptist churches?  

• Each Baptist church has their own process for selecting Elders, with many having a similar approach to SWBC.  
  

Is Duane an Elder? 

• Yes. This is the same structure as with a school board, where the school principal is also a member of the school board. Our previous two senior pastors have also been Elders. As per our constitution, our Senior Pastor (Duane Major) is ex-officio chairperson of all organisations of the church, although the Elders still appoint their own functional chairperson. Whenever there is a conflict of interest, the Eldership meet without the Senior Pastor.