Leadership

Shipyard isn't a Sunday performance you attend. It's a body you belong to. If you've ever sat in church with a gift and no place to use it, that's exactly what the church is built for. Disciples making disciples.

Shipyard Church is led by its elders. Bill Mirabito serves as our Pastor and Teacher. He's the third elder to lead Shipyard.

Here's how we understand leadership, and why there's room for you to pursue your calling.

Two offices, not ranks

The New Testament gives the church elders and deacons. Not an org chart. Elders shepherd. Deacons serve. One carries the weight of teaching and oversight. The other carries the practical care of the church. Both are real and necessary. The difference between them is responsibility.

The elder: one office, many names

"Elder" is one office with a handful of names. Scripture also calls this role an overseer, a shepherd, a pastor, a teacher. In Acts 20, Paul gathers the elders and charges them to shepherd the flock.

So an elder is not a board member. An elder leads, teaches, shepherds and serves. Every elder is an ordained minister of the gospel, set apart to preach the Word, care for souls, and guard the flock. Always as a servant. You won't find a row of silent trustees at Shipyard. You won't find one "senior" pastor set above the rest. We don't believe the New Testament prescribes that.

The bar for an elder is character, not credentials. Paul's qualifications read like the portrait of a life. One who feeds the flock and tends to their needs. A shepherd stands between the wolves and the sheep. That's the job. To protect something more valuable than yourself.

A plurality of equals

We hold to a plurality of equal elders. No senior pastor or corner office. Each one a shepherd. Each one under the same Word as everyone else in the room.

Today the Lord has given Shipyard one elder. We pray the Lord of the Harvest raises up more shepherds who are eager to serve, who meet the qualifications, and whom this body already knows as its own. Leaders here are raised up and recognized from within.

The deacon: called to serve

The second office is the deacon. The word simply means one who serves. Deacons provide the hands-on care of the church. Real needs, met by real people. While deacons aren't responsible for teaching, each is essential for service. Deacons allow us to serve children, to lead worship, to show hospitality, to gather help for others. Service is no small calling. Jesus took the towel and washed feet Himself. Whatever the world makes of such kindness, service sits close to the heart of Christ.

Every believer a priest, so no one's a spectator

Here's the heart of it. Scripture says every believer is a priest. If that's true, then nobody in this church is just an onlooker. We don't come to watch professionals perform. We're here because we each have something to give.

That's the whole point of Shipyard. It's built for the benched believer. The one with a gift and nowhere to put it. The one who's been told to just wait their turn, sit tight, leave it to the experts. Not here. Rooted in Acts 2, we gather to learn the Word together and to build each other up. Your gift has a place here, whether it's teaching, serving, showing mercy, opening your home, or a calling you haven't named yet.

If that's the church you've been looking for, come and see.