Our Leadership

Bear Creek Church is led and overseen by a plurality of elders – what we believe to be the biblical model given to us in God’s Word.  Biblically speaking the titles of “pastor” and “elder” are the same, and BCC only makes a distinction to communicate who is on staff (pastors) and who is not (elders), while maintaining that all are (biblically speaking) elders, and all are accountable to the elders as a whole.  We use the title of “preaching pastor” simply to communicate which elder is responsible for this area of ministry.  This is not intended to communicate a CEO-style of leadership, as we hold to the biblical model of a church being led by the elders.

The following (from an article by Matt Perman) describes the role of an elder.  You might want to read the full article to understand the interchangeable titles of elder and pastor:
 

According to the New Testament, elders are responsible for the primary leadership and oversight of a church. The function and role of an elder is well summarized by Alexander Strauch in his book Biblical Eldership: “Elders lead the church [1 Tim 5:17; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 5:1–2], teach and preach the Word [1 Timothy 3:2; 2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 1:9], protect the church from false teachers [Acts 20:17, 28–31], exhort and admonish the saints in sound doctrine [1 Timothy 4:13; 2 Timothy 3:13–17; Titus 1:9], visit the sick and pray [James 5:14; Acts 6:4], and judge doctrinal issues [Acts 15:6]. In biblical terminology, elders shepherd, oversee, lead, and care for the local church” (16).

 

Elders

 

Pastor Brian Phelps – Pastor of preaching, pastorbrian@bearcreekchurch.org

Pastor Bill Pritchett – Administration and counseling, pastorbill@bearcreekchurch.org

Jim Cartwright – pastorjim@bearcreekchurch.org

Steve Murphy – eldersteve@bearcreekchurch.org

 

Deacons

The role of a deacon is one of servant leadership.  They are leaders in that they are examples of godliness to the church body, with qualifications given in 1 Timothy 3:8-13.  Their leadership is not to be confused with the oversight of elders, as their calling is to serve in ways that free up the elders (Acts 6:1-7) for their primary calling of prayer and teaching.  A deacon’s role is to minister to the church body through service.  BCC’s deacons are:
 

Tom Eastwold

Andrew Gettman

Ron Green

Shawn Herberholz

Justin Knight

Gabe Morgan

Jim Servoss

Sean Thomas
 

The Church Body

Please know that we love you and desire to serve you through what God has called us (elders and deacons) to do. Don’t hesitate to bring your questions and concerns and various needs to our attention, so that we might be a healthy and united body of Christ.