LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNMENT

Hope Church is a member of the Reformed Church in America, and is governed by elders and deacons. The elders are responsible for the spiritual welfare of the congregation and overseeing the preaching of the pastor. The deacons are responsible for the physical plant, the finances, and to help the church members and others with food, rent payments, or bills when someone is in need by means of the Deacon's Fund. Together, the elders, deacons, and pastor make up the consistory (church board) which meets once a month to help the congregation to be what God wants it to be.

At that monthly meeting, the consistory prays for people of the congregation with special situations.
Elders and deacons are chosen annually, and are chosen by lot. The selection process is based on Acts 1:21-26 in which lots were cast to choose a disciple for the apostolic ministry to replace Judas. When we cast lots, we pick qualified people and put their names in a vessel, shake the vessel and turn it over, and the first name to fall out is the chosen one. Proverbs 16:33 says, "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord." The reason we do this instead of popular election is: 1- popular elections are not biblical in church elections; 2-popular elections cause jealousy and hurt feelings because it becomes a popularity contest; 3-casting the lot is a way that is fair for everyone and does not cause problems. 4-Before the lot is cast, we pray that whomever God wants will be selected by Him and not us. It is a more godly way of choosing our leaders.

Each RCA church is a member of the RCA governing body. The state RCA governing body is called classis, which means "fleet of ships." The state classis is responsible to the regional synod which consists of several states; the regional synods are responsible to the General Synod, which is made up of delegates from each classis and meets once a year to discuss important issues and pass laws that need to be followed. If the churches do not believe that a rule is biblical, a recourse for rebuttal is made available.

All RCA churches are somewhat autonomous in that they are free to live according to their consciences. For example, the RCA General Synod has approved the installation of women preachers, yet, if a congregation does not want a woman preacher, they can continue to call men. Women may be pastors, however a congregation is not required to call women as pastors. In a different scenario, the General Synod has said that an active homosexual or lesbian is not allowed to be a pastor. To go against this ruling by calling an active homosexual to the pastorate would then require the RCA judicatory to intervene. The General Synod tries to abide by its conservative evangelical stance as per the Scriptures. During its history, the RCA has never had a scandal; however, pastors have been defrocked by continually disobeying biblical rulings. Church members have been disciplined and excommunicated for continually living in unrepentant sins that bring shame upon the name of Christ. The task of discipline begins with the pastor and elders and may take its path clear to the General Synod, however this seldom happens.

Links of interest
RCA Governance
RCA Leadership