8 Bible Verses about Church Government

About this time, as the number of disciples was increasing, complaints were made by the Greek-speaking Jews against the Hebrews because their widows were habitually overlooked in the daily ministration. So the Twelve called together the general body of the disciples and said, "It does not seem fitting that we Apostles should neglect the delivery of God's Message and minister at tables. Therefore, brethren, pick out from among yourselves seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, and we will appoint them to undertake this duty.read more.
But, as for us, we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the delivery of the Message." The suggestion met with general approval, and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch. These men they brought to the Apostles, and, after prayer, they laid their hands upon them.

And in every Church, after prayer and fasting, they selected Elders by show of hands, and commended them to the Lord on whom their faith rested.

I have left you behind in Crete in order that you may set right the things which still require attention, and appoint Elders in every town, as I directed you to do;

From Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the Elders of the Church to come to him.

So I exhort the Elders among you--I who am their fellow Elder and have been an eye-witness of the sufferings of the Christ, and am also a sharer in the glory which is soon to be revealed. Be shepherds of God's flock which is among you. Exercise the oversight not reluctantly but eagerly, in accordance with the will of God; not for base gain but with cheerful minds; not lording it over your Churches but proving yourselves patterns for the flock to imitate.read more.
And then, when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the never-withering wreath of glory.

Faithful is the saying, "If any one is eager to have the oversight of a Church, he desires a noble work." A minister then must be a man of irreproachable character, true to his one wife, temperate, sober-minded, well-behaved, hospitable to strangers, and with a gift for teaching; not a hard drinker nor given to blows; not selfish or quarrelsome or covetous;read more.
but ruling his own household wisely and well, with children kept under control with true dignity. (If a man does not know how to rule his own household, how shall he have the Church of God given into his care?) He ought not to be a new convert, for fear he should be blinded with pride and come under the same condemnation as the Devil. It is needful also that he bear a good character with people outside the Church, lest he fall into reproach or a snare of the Devil. Deacons, in the same way, must be men of serious demeanour, not double-tongued, nor addicted to much wine, nor greedy of base gain, but holding the secret truths of the faith with a clear conscience. And they must also be well-tried men, and when found to be of unblemished character then let them serve as deacons. Deaconesses, in the same way, must be sober-minded women, not slanderers, but in every way temperate and trustworthy. A deacon must be true to his one wife, and rule his children and his own household wisely and well. For those who have filled the deacon's office wisely and well, are already gaining for themselves an honourable standing, and are acquiring great freedom of speech in proclaiming the faith which rests on Christ Jesus.

wherever there is a man of blameless life, true to his one wife, having children who are themselves believers and are free from every reproach of profligacy or of stubborn self-will. For, as God's steward, a minister must be of blameless life, not over-fond of having his own way, not a man of a passionate temper nor a hard drinker, not given to blows nor greedy of gain, but hospitable to strangers, a lover of goodness, sober-minded, upright, saintly, self-controlled;read more.
holding fast to the faithful Message which he has received, so that he may be well qualified both to encourage others with sound teaching and to reply successfully to opponents.

From Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the Elders of the Church to come to him. Upon their arrival he said to them, "You Elders well know, from the first day of my setting foot in the province of Asia, the kind of life I lived among you the whole time, serving the Lord in all humility, and with tears, and amid trials which came upon me through the plotting of the Jews--read more.
and that I never shrank from declaring to you anything that was profitable, or from teaching you in public and in your homes, and urging upon both Jews and Greeks the necessity of turning to God and of believing in Jesus our Lord. "And now, impelled by a sense of duty, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit, at town after town, testifies to me that imprisonment and suffering are awaiting me. But even the sacrifice of my life I count as nothing, if only I may perfect my earthly course, and be faithful to the duty which the Lord Jesus has entrusted to me of proclaiming, as of supreme importance, the Good News of God's grace. "And now, I know that none of you among whom I have gone in and out proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom will any longer see my face. Therefore I protest to you to-day that I am not responsible for the ruin of any one of you. For I have not shrunk from declaring to you God's whole truth. "Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has placed you to take the oversight for Him and act as shepherds to the Church of God, which He has bought with His own blood.