Welcome to the Elders 101 Course!

Training Elders for a position of service.

Course Summary

The purpose of the 5-module course is to examine how to work effectively as an Elder in an Adventist church. This course will help the new Elder meet their church’s needs in a meaningful way while developing the skills and abilities necessary to serve the local church.

What Will I Learn ?

You will learn about the Elder’s qualifications and role as a spiritual leader. You will discover strategies to prepare meaningful sermons and worship experiences, and nurture and develop relationships with church members.  You will be introduced to visitation and evangelistic strategies to optimize member engagement and to evangelize faith seekers. You will discover success strategies of working with your church pastor and dealing with minor church conflicts.

What Do I Need To Know ?

After completing this course you will earn 0.5 CEU and a certificate of completion in your Adventist Learning Community e-portfolio.

 

After completing this course for continuing education credit, you may re-enroll in the course for the purposes of resource retrieval, but not earn any additional CEUs.

Introduction Video

Instructors

Dr. Nikolaus Satelmajer

 

Nik Satelmayer is currently an Adjunct Professor at Washington Adventist University.  He is the primary author for the North American Division Ministerial Elder’s Website, www.adventistelder.org. He was the Associate Ministerial Director for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists from 1976-1978, and has held several administration roles in the New York Conference.  He has been the senior pastor at multiple churches across the United States and Canada.  Nik has published several books, articles, and presented professional papers. He has expertise in several areas of professional practice including evangelism, education, media ministry, and international aid.  His complete CV is available here.

Dr. Daniel Day

 

Dan Day is currently Director of Special Projects for the North American Division, operating out of the Office of Strategy and Research—where his areas of focus are marketing and research administration. He also spent seven years as director of the NAD Church Resource Center and has work experience as a pastor, president of his own marketing firm, and a university and healthcare industry vice president. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including book titles such as: Being Saved When You’re Feeling Lost, Marketing Adventism, Ever Been Irritated? I’ve Got This Problem with Sex, Straight Thinking in an Age of Exotic Beliefs, Hanging On By Your Fingernails, Kids, Teens, and Wives, A Deeper Look At Your Church, Beginning Your Spiritual Journey, and Bible Study Basics

Required Course Resources:

  1. General Conference Ministerial Department, (2013). Seventh-day Adventist Elder’s Handbook.
    1. Book review: The work of elders is unique among church leaders. As overseers, they are responsible for everything that is related to the work of the church. As such, the training and directing of elders fall under the Ministerial Association. Because elders work closely with people in all aspects of the church, this handbook includes material from representatives of each department.
  2. General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist, (2016). The Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual.  Available for download (place PDF document here).
    1. Manual review: The Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual provides important policies and procedures, especially for the local congregation. It also gives the official descriptions of the elder’s role. Elders need to be familiar with the manual and follow it. The manual is revised only at General Conference sessions. The current edition was published in 2016 and reflects the changes voted at the 2015 General Conference session.
  3. General Conference Ministerial Association, (2016). 500 Sermon Outlines.
    1. 500 Sermons Review:  Three categories of sermons: Prophetic, Doctrinal and Devotional.These are sermon outlines by Frederick F. Schwindt, well-known evangelist and preacher. You can copy each into a Word document and modify each of the outlines.
  4. General Conference Ministerial Association, (2016). Elder’s Guide 8-Volume Set.
    1. Elder’s Guide Review: This classic resource for church elder was only available on CD until recently. Now, you can download the full 8-volume set of searchable HTML files for a lower price and no shipping cost!
  5. General Conference Ministerial Association, (2017). Elder’s Digest.  Available in multiple languages online including English, French, Portuguese or Spanish at eldersdigest.org.
    1. Elders Digest Review: The Ministerial Association of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists publishes this magazine quarterly.  The North American Division and local conference provide the English edition without cost to elders in North America. If you are not receiving your copy please check with your head elder or pastor.
  6. Coming Soon! - General Conference Ministerial Association, (2017). 550 Sermon Outlines. Will be available @ ministerialassociation.org/store
    1. 550 Sermon Outlines Review: Covers the following topics: Prayer, Bible Men & Women, Funerals & General Topics.  Sermon outlines by Frederick F. Schwindt. You can copy each into a Word document and modify each of the outlines.

 

Additional Elder Resources & Contact Information!

The pastor is the primary contact for elders. The ministerial secretary of the local conference has information about training events and other resources. Some union conferences within North America also provide resources for elders.

The Ministerial Association of the Seventh-day Adventist Church provides resources for church elders. Elders can obtain resources and help from the following places:

  • www.adventistelder.org. This is the official site for Elders sponsored by the Ministerial Association of the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. If you have questions about their website you may email them or call 301-680-5059.
  • www.ministerialassociation.org. This is the site of the Ministerial Association of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Most of their resources are listed in this course, but you may want to check their website for any additional resources.
  • The Adventist Book Center provides some resources for elders. If you are not near an Adventist Book Center, you may visit them at www.adventistbookcenter.com.
  • AdventSource, a ministry of the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists, also lists resources for elders. Visit them at www.adventsource.org.

When you have completed this module, please click ">Next" or navigate to Module 1 to continue.

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