“Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.”

1 Peter 5:2-3

our elders’ heart

The elders of Emmanuel Bible Church believe our role is to shepherd the flock that God has entrusted to us for the time being. All of our shepherding is done in preparation of the great day when the ‘chief Shepherd,’ the Lord Jesus appears for His bride. As elders, we are merely servants preparing the bride for her appearance before her Groom. But in order to prepare the church for Christ’s appearance, we must know the congregation well. If we are to have a pulse on how the flock is doing in Christ’s commandment for us to fulfill the Great Commission (Mt. 28:18-20) then we must be involved in their lives. This is done in many different ways at Emmanuel Bible Church, but one of the primary ways that we aim to ensure that the membership of the church is pressing forward for the day in which we see Christ is by consistently gathering through what are called ‘shepherding groups.’

How they’re organized

In these shepherding groups, the membership of the church is distributed amongst the elders of the body. Each shepherding group is led by a man called by God and identified as being gifted for the eldership of the church and overseeing the care for the members of the group. This ensures that everyone in our congregation is regularly meeting with brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as one of the shepherds of EBC.

when they meet

Shepherding groups typically meet on the first Sunday of most months following the morning service, though this sometimes changes given various holidays, etc.

what you can expect

During our shepherding groups, we share prayer requests and praises, encourage and strengthen one another in the faith, and are nourished by the word of God.

If you have any questions about shepherding groups and their role at EBC, please reach out to one of the elders of the church. We would love to talk more about them.