According to the New Testament, there were men known as elders who were appointed to oversee a congregation of the Lord’s church (Acts 14:23, Phil 1:1; Titus 1:5). The elders of various congregations, were also known as “bishops, pastors, presbyters, overseers, and shepherds.” These six words are used interchangeably in the Bible and all of their corresponding Greek terms are found in Acts 20:17,28 and 1 Peter 5:1-2 to refer to the same office. Each individual member of this office is to be qualified for the work by the criteria identified in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9.
With this understanding, we commend the following qualified men to you as our pastors, bishops, elders/overseers, presbyters, and shepherds of the flock at the Margaret Street church of Christ.