1. “Having multiple elders spreads out the pastoral workload… If you are overwhelmed, don’t just keep gutting it out—shoot up a distress flare and call in brothers for help.”

2. “Plurality enables a church to access the diverse gifting among the elders so that each one operates out of his strengths… See the other elders as part of the divinely engineered tool set for serving your congregation.”

3. “Elders, in plurality, act as pastors to one another… Who shepherds the shepherds? Elders need pastoral care just like everyone else… If you’re going to pastor a congregation effectively, you need to be under spiritual oversight yourself.”

4. “Plurality helps to guard against our domineering tendencies… When elders are practicing a healthy plurality, it’s harder for one man’s views or tendencies to dominate, because the elders offset one another… Plurality creates a structure for elders to call one another out when one of them gets off track.”

5. “It is much more satisfying, and even fun, to pastor as a team than to be a lone-wolf shepherd… One of my greatest ministry joys has been serving with the lay elders of my congregation… These man have been a band of brothers for me and for one another.” A mono-pastorate “robs your pastor of vital support and deep satisfaction. It also deprives other church members of richer pastoral care.”

Source: Church Elders: How to Shepherd God’s People Like Jesus, by Jeramie Rinne.