• Responsibilities 2

• Elders’ Meetings 3-11

  • When to Hold 4

  • What to Discuss 5-6

  • Compiling and Distributing the Agenda 7

  • During the Meeting 8-11

• Pursue Peace 12-13

1. Jehovah has appointed Jesus Christ as head of the Christian congregation. (Eph. 1:22, 23; Rev. 1:20) Your accepting Jesus as head of the congregation promotes cooperation and unity on the body. You demonstrate submission to Christ’s headship when you do the following:

1. (1) Seek to understand and apply Bible laws and principles.​—John 7:16-18; Eph. 5:17.

2. (2) Obey direction from “the faithful and discreet slave” and from overseers appointed to take the lead, such as those at the branch office and the circuit overseer.​—Matt. 24:45-47; Heb. 13:17.

3. (3) Listen carefully to the expressions of fellow elders.​—Rom. 12:10b; Jas. 1:19.

4. (4) Deal in a kind and loving manner with each individual in the congregation, including fellow elders. Do not impose personal viewpoints or arbitrary rules on others.​—Matt. 11:28-30; 1 Cor. 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:1-3, 5.

5. (5) Open and close all meetings of the body of elders with prayer. Pray again if a discussion of the body of elders seems to falter.​—Jas. 1:5.

2. The responsibilities of the body of elders include the following:

1. (1) Making recommendations for the appointment and deletion of elders and ministerial servants.​—See Chapter 8.

2. (2) Deciding the number of field service groups and who will serve as group overseers and assistants.​—See Chapter 7.

3. (3) Deciding the subjects of local needs parts and who should present them.​—See 20:14-15.

4. (4) Deciding who should serve as the secretary, the service overseer, the Watchtower Study conductor, and the Life and Ministry Meeting overseer. Deciding who, if anyone, should assist or substitute for these brothers or the coordinator of the body of elders in their assignments.​—See Chapters 3-6 and Instructions for Our Christian Life and Ministry Meeting (S-38).

5. (5) Deciding who should serve as the auxiliary counselor and, if needed, the counselors for auxiliary classes.​—See Instructions for Our Christian Life and Ministry Meeting.

6. (6) If the Kingdom Hall is used by only one congregation, deciding who should serve as the maintenance coordinator. If the Kingdom Hall is used by multiple congregations, selecting a brother or brothers to serve on the Kingdom Hall Operating Committee.​—See 21:14-20.

7. (7) Deciding who should serve as the accounts servant, the literature servant, the territory servant, the cleaning coordinator, the public talk coordinator, and any brothers who assist them.

8. (8) Deciding who will receive additional privileges and responsibilities, such as reading at the Watchtower Study, reading at or conducting the Congregation Bible Study, serving as chairman for the midweek meeting or weekend meeting, handling nonstudent assignments at the midweek meeting, serving as an attendant, passing microphones, offering public prayer, conducting meetings for field service, and so forth.

9. (9) Deciding who is approved to deliver public talks in the local congregation and who is approved to give public talks in other congregations. Deciding whether a ministerial servant should deliver his first public talk by means of a symposium.​—See 20:1, 4.

10. (10) Assigning two elders to investigate accusations of serious wrongdoing, determining whether serious wrongdoing requires a judicial committee, and choosing who will serve on the committee, including who will serve as chairman. (See Chapter 12 and 15.) Choosing who will serve on the committee that meets with one who has decided to disassociate himself. (See Chapter 18.) Assigning two elders to meet with a publisher who has deliberately viewed pornography.​—See Chapter 13.

11. (11) Determining whether a warning talk should be given to the congregation and deciding who should present the talk.

12. (12) Deciding which elders will handle the annual meeting with the regular pioneers, special pioneers, and field missionaries in December/​January.

13. (13) Selecting speakers for the special public talk and Memorial, selecting those who will offer prayer over the emblems at the Memorial, and selecting Memorial meeting times.​—See 20:6-8.

14. (14) Determining whether a publisher is Scripturally free to remarry.​—See 12:71-76.

15. (15) Reviewing the congregation’s resolved donation to Kingdom Hall and Assembly Hall construction worldwide.​—See Instructions for Congregation Accounting (S-27).

16. (16) If the Kingdom Hall is used by multiple congregations, reviewing and approving the monthly amount to be contributed to the Kingdom Hall Operating Committee for the upcoming service year to care for Kingdom Hall operating expenses.​—See 21:20 and Instructions for Kingdom Hall Operating Committee Accounting (S-42).

17. (17) Determining whether to host a foreign-language pregroup or group and determining which meetings will be held.​—See Chapter 24.

18. (18) Determining how to extend hospitality to visiting speakers.​—See 20:5.

19. (19) Deciding who will temporarily serve as the coordinator of the body of elders when an adjustment must be made apart from the visit of the circuit overseer.​—See 3:1.

20. (20) Determining whether it is necessary for the congregation as a whole to consider providing some form of assistance to certain needy brothers and sisters who have a long history of faithful service, particularly if there are no family members or other relatives to assist such ones and no adequate assistance from government agencies is available.​—od pp. 119-120 pars. 12-15.

3. When the body of elders discusses a matter, Christ by means of the holy spirit can influence any elder to make an expression that contributes to a wise decision, one that may not have been reached if the elders had been consulted individually. (Acts 15:6-21) Meetings should normally not exceed two hours in length.

4. When to Hold: In addition to the elders’ meeting held during each visit of the circuit overseer, an elders’ meeting should be held about three months after each visit. Other meetings can be arranged any time that circumstances necessitate.

5. What to Discuss: The body of elders may discuss any matters pertaining to the congregation. Generally, these would involve matters that cannot be handled by individual elders or that are not the responsibility of another entity, such as the Congregation Service Committee or the Kingdom Hall Operating Committee.​—See 2:1; 3:3.4.

6. Following are some matters that periodically merit the attention of the body of elders:

1. (1) At the meeting held about three months after the visit of the circuit overseer, review the circuit overseer’s report on his previous visit to the congregation. In preparation for the next visit of the circuit overseer, consider any recommendations for the appointment or deletion of elders or ministerial servants.​—See Chapter 8.

2. (2) Consider whether and how the congregation can do more to give a thorough witness in the congregation’s assigned territory.​—Acts 20:24; see Chapter 23.

3. (3) Consider the spiritual and physical needs of widows, orphans, the blind, the homebound, those in nursing homes, and other publishers with special circumstances.​—Jas. 1:27.

4. (4) Consider what further training is needed to help brothers care properly for congregation assignments and to help those with potential, including newly baptized and younger brothers, to take on greater responsibility.​—2 Tim. 2:2; see 25:4-6.

5. (5) Review the congregation assignments of all exemplary, baptized brothers. For example, is there a need to balance out the workload of the appointed brothers or to adjust the assignments so as to provide newer brothers with the opportunity to gain additional experience?​—Ex. 18:17, 18; Prov. 11:2b; see 1:2.8.

6. (6) Review published information on disaster preparedness.​—See 26:1-6.

7. Compiling and Distributing the Agenda: For the meeting that is held about three months after the visit of the circuit overseer, the coordinator of the body of elders should ask the other elders to submit matters that they would like to discuss. The elders should be invited to suggest the names of brothers they would like to consider for recommendation as elders or ministerial servants. (See Chapter 8.) The coordinator of the body of elders should give a copy of the agenda to each elder a few days before the meeting to allow time for research and prayerful consideration. (Prov. 21:5) For the meeting that is held during the visit of the circuit overseer, the circuit overseer compiles the agenda after checking whether the elders have additional points they wish to discuss. If time permits, the circuit overseer may agree to include one or two significant items on the agenda. Otherwise, he will direct the elders to consider those matters at another time.

8. During the Meeting: The coordinator of the body of elders should set the pace of the discussion by sticking to the agenda as much as possible and by keeping the main points to the fore. The secretary or another designated elder should take notes of the decisions, including the names of elders who will follow through and the suggested date for completion. In some cases the coordinator of the body of elders may ask the elder recommending an item for the agenda to take the lead in presenting it for discussion.

9. Each elder should freely express himself if he believes he has something meaningful to add. (Prov. 10:19) He should keep his comments succinct and relevant. The coordinator of the body of elders should avoid dominating the discussion, being careful as to when and how he expresses himself. There should be no anger or debates during elders’ meetings.​—1 Tim. 2:8.

10. It should be possible for bodies of elders to be unanimous in most of their decisions. (Acts 15:25) The body of elders should always base their decisions on Bible principles and written direction from “the faithful and discreet slave.” (Matt. 24:45) In cases that do not involve specific Bible laws or where there is no direction from the faithful slave, the body of elders must exercise their collective judgment and conscience. If a matter requires assistance from the branch office, it is usually best to write. If the matter is urgent, two elders together should call to explain the situation and to make a note of the direction given.​—See 14:6-30; 29:1.

11. No one should insist on his personal viewpoint. If a decision is not unanimous, the minority should give willing support to the final decision. If in the opinion of the minority a Bible-based decision still has not been reached, the minority should continue to cooperate with the rest of the body and should bring the matter to the attention of the circuit overseer during his regular visit.

12. If the imperfections of those serving on the body are allowed to cause strained relations, the flow of Jehovah’s spirit can be restricted and the congregation may be adversely affected. Work hard to pursue peace with your fellow elders. (Rom. 14:19) Cultivate and maintain friendships with one another. At the same time, you should not hold back from giving fellow elders loving counsel when needed.​—Ps. 141:5.

13. Take the lead in showing honor to your fellow elders. (Rom. 12:10) One way you can do this is by keeping communication open and free, especially if there are differences in background. Younger elders should be respectful of older, more experienced elders on the body and demonstrate patience. (Lev. 19:32) Older elders should not take offense when younger elders give suggestions or respectfully offer counsel. (Eccl. 7:9) Humility will enable you to accept counsel. (Prov. 12:15) Even if you feel the counsel was not entirely justified, try to learn from it. Remember that the peace and well-being of the congregation is more important than personal interests.​—1 Cor. 10:23, 24.