Office Bearer Annual Reaffirmation — Draft April 2026
MAYFLOWER CHURCH
Office Bearer Annual Reaffirmation
For Elders, Deacons, and Trustees
Introduction
A theology of office
At Mayflower, those set apart as Elders, Deacons, and Trustees are not holding jobs. They are occupying offices — given by Christ to His church for the good of His people. Elders shepherd and teach; deacons serve; trustees steward the material means through which the ministry takes place. Each office has its own biblical shape and its own boundary conditions.
Because office is not employment, office is not scored. No stars, no ratings, no stack-ranking. What we do — annually, in the love of Christ and the company of our peers — is ask whether we still walk worthy of the office we hold (Ephesians 4:1), whether we are still bearing fruit where the Lord has planted us, and whether the season is still right for this service.
What this form is (and is not)
It is an instrument of self-examination before God.
It is a conversation starter within each board — elders with elders, deacons with deacons, trustees with trustees.
It is one input to nominating decisions and term renewals, not the sole basis.
It is a pastoral tool for spotting a brother or sister who is struggling, tired, or drifting, so the board can care for them.
It is NOT an employment evaluation. It generates no personnel file, no written rating, no corrective action. Discipline of an officer, if ever needed, runs through the bylaws, not through this form.
It is NOT a popularity contest. The congregation elects officers at their stated meetings. This form is for the board to exercise its own internal pastoral responsibility between those elections.
How it works
Each officer completes the self-examination relevant to their office once a year. For most boards, April is a natural rhythm — before the nominating cycle begins in earnest for the next year.
The moderator or board chair hosts a reaffirmation conversation at a regular meeting or a dedicated retreat. Each officer, in turn, shares what they are comfortable sharing from their self-examination. Others respond with gratitude, encouragement, and, when needed, gentle sharpening.
The board records in its minutes that the reaffirmation took place and notes any pastoral care items the board has agreed to follow up on. No individual self-examination responses are entered into minutes.
If the conversation surfaces a serious concern about qualification, the board follows the pastoral process defined in the bylaws, not this form.
A word on confidentiality
Self-examination responses belong to the officer. They share what they choose. The board keeps what is shared under the ordinary confidentiality of pastoral conversation.
Section 1 — Elder Reaffirmation
For those serving as Elders — ordained to shepherd, teach, and oversee the flock of God among us.
Scriptural Qualifications
1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 name the qualifications of the office. These are not a checklist to grade yourself against but a portrait to hold yourself up to in the light of Christ.
Below each grouping, write a few honest sentences. Not perfection — honesty.
Above reproach, one-woman man, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable
How does your life — publicly and in the hidden places — align with these qualifications this year? Where is Christ at work in you? Where do you need His continued grace?
Able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money
How are you growing in your ability to teach — formally or in conversation? Any patterns of anger, consumption, or money-love that you need to name and fight?
Manages his own household well, keeping his children submissive
How is your home? Marriage, parenting, household discipleship. Answer as you would before the Lord who sees.
Not a recent convert, well thought of by outsiders, holds firm to the trustworthy word
Where is your maturity being tested this year? What is your witness outside the church? How are you keeping a firm grip on sound doctrine in a culture that pulls in many directions?
Faithfulness to the Office
Consider the specific work of elders at Mayflower — shepherding, overseeing, teaching, praying for the sick, guarding doctrine, leading alongside the Senior Pastor. Where have you been most faithful this year? Where have you drifted, skimped, or been absent?
Shepherding Teams and Pastoral Care
How are you caring for the specific flock entrusted to you (your Shepherding Team, BFG, or assigned families)? Are the people in your care known by you? Would they say you know them?
Board Contribution
How are you contributing to the elders' shared work — discernment, prayer, decisions, pastoral weight? Are you a present, engaged elder, or have you been carried by your peers this year?
Season and Sustainability
What is the season of your life right now — family, work, health, personal walk with Christ? Is eldering sustainable for you in this season, or does the board need to know something about your capacity? Be honest about both over-extension and under-engagement.
A Word to the Board
What do you want to say to your fellow elders as you head into another year of service together? Gratitude, asks, concerns?
Section 2 — Deacon Reaffirmation
For those serving as Deacons — set apart to serve the body, tend to practical needs, and free the elders to give themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:1-6).
Scriptural Qualifications
1 Timothy 3:8-13 names the qualifications of the diaconate. As with elders, treat these as a portrait, not a checklist.
Dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain
How is your character in speech, habits, and handling of money? Where is Christ at work in you? Where is a fight still on?
Holding the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience
How is your walk with Christ? Are you living from a clear conscience, or is there something you are carrying that needs to be brought into the light?
Tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless
How has your service been tested this year — in difficult people, in unseen work, in thankless tasks? What has that testing shown?
Deacons' wives (and deacons' conduct at home) — dignified, not slanderers, faithful
How is your home, your marriage (if married), the way people experience you when the church is not watching?
Faithfulness to the Office
Consider the specific work of deacons at Mayflower — ministry to the needy among us, hospitality, stewardship of the ordinances, practical care. Where have you been most faithful this year? Where have you been absent or half-hearted?
Mercy and Care
How have you tended to members in need this year — sickness, grief, financial hardship, food and shelter, benevolence? Is the deacon fund being stewarded as a real expression of the church's mercy?
Partnership with the Elders
Is the ministry of mercy freeing the elders for prayer and the word? Or is there confusion of lanes? What is working in the elder-deacon partnership, and what needs conversation?
Season and Sustainability
What is your season? Is diaconal service sustainable for you right now? Is there a practical ministry that has fallen to you by default that should be shared or reassigned?
A Word to the Board
What do you want to say to your fellow deacons as you head into another year together?
Section 3 — Trustee Reaffirmation
For those serving as Trustees — set apart to steward the material, legal, and physical resources through which the ministry of Mayflower takes place.
The nature of the trustee's work
Trustees are not primarily pastoral officers. They are fiduciaries. They act in the best interests of the church as a legal and material entity, making decisions about property, contracts, insurance, and legal compliance, in submission to the bylaws and in service of the mission. The character required is still Christlike, but the lens of self-examination is less 1 Timothy 3 and more the fruit of a steward (Luke 12:42-48; 1 Corinthians 4:1-2).
Character and Integrity
As a steward of Mayflower's material resources, are you acting in integrity — conflicts of interest disclosed, confidentiality honored, decisions made without favoritism or self-interest? Where has this been tested this year?
Faithfulness to the Office
Consider the specific work of trustees at Mayflower — property care, facilities, vendor management, insurance, compliance, legal matters. Where have you been most faithful this year? Where have you been absent or thin?
Stewardship and Due Diligence
Are decisions made with proper research, legal compliance, and care for the dollars the congregation has given? Are projects, bids, and contracts being handled transparently and prudently?
Partnership with the Boards
How is the trustees' partnership with the Elders, Deacons, and Board of Finance? Are lanes clear? Are you serving the mission or defending a turf?
Board Contribution
Are you an engaged trustee — present, prepared, asking the hard questions, or are you skating? Where is your contribution most valuable, and where could another trustee cover what you do?
Season and Sustainability
What is your season of life? Is trusteeship sustainable for you? Is there a role or responsibility that needs to be shared, delegated, or released?
A Word to the Board
What do you want to say to your fellow trustees as you head into another year of stewardship together?
Section 4 — Board Conversation Guide
A guide for the moderator or chair to lead the reaffirmation conversation well. Not a script — a frame.
Before the meeting
Each officer completes their own self-examination in advance. They are not required to share every answer.
The chair sets expectations: this is a pastoral conversation among peers. Confidentiality is assumed. No minutes will record individual responses.
Schedule unhurried time. An hour per board is a minimum; a half-day retreat works better the first year.
During the meeting
Open with Scripture and prayer. Acts 20:28 (elders), Acts 6:1-6 (deacons), or Luke 12:42-48 (trustees) are natural starting points.
The chair goes first, sharing honestly from their own self-examination. This sets the tone.
Each officer, in turn, shares what they choose from their self-examination. Others listen without interruption.
After each officer shares, the board responds briefly with three things: one specific gratitude, one encouragement, and, if warranted, one loving observation.
Close with prayer for each officer by name, specifically.
Three rules for the conversation
No silent disapproval. If you have a concern about a brother or sister on this board, this is the place to name it — in love, in their presence, and with gentleness. Unnamed concerns fester.
No performance reviews. The person speaking about their own life is not auditioning for reappointment. They are opening their life to the care of the board.
No side conversations. What is shared in this room stays in this room. Pastoral follow-up happens in the room, not by text the next day.
After the meeting
The clerk records only that the reaffirmation took place and any actions the board collectively decided on (e.g., “the board agreed to pray for Officer X's ailing parent” — only with Officer X's consent).
If a concern about ongoing qualification arose, the chair initiates the pastoral process defined in the bylaws (not in this form).
If an officer signals they are near the end of their season, the chair makes sure the nominating team is informed in time for the next cycle.
Section 5 — Minute Entry Template
For the clerk to use after the reaffirmation conversation. Keep it brief and non-specific about individuals.
Suggested minute language:
“The [Elder / Deacon / Trustee] Board held its annual reaffirmation conversation on [date], with [N] officers participating. Each officer engaged in self-examination against the qualifications and responsibilities of the office and shared within the board. The board affirmed each officer's continued calling to the office and committed to ongoing prayer and pastoral care for one another. Any pastoral follow-up agreed by the board is being carried forward under the ordinary care of the chair.”
Board Chair / Moderator: _______________________________________________________
Clerk: _______________________________________________________
Date: _______________________________________________________
Appendix — When a Pastoral Concern Surfaces
If the reaffirmation conversation surfaces a serious concern about an officer's ongoing qualification for the office — whether in character, conviction, capacity, or circumstance — the board does not resolve it through this form. The form has done its job by surfacing it.
Appropriate next steps:
The chair (or two officers, per Matthew 18) meet privately with the concerned officer in love.
If restoration is possible through conversation and prayer, that is the first path.
If not, the matter moves into the process defined in the bylaws — which may include stepping down voluntarily, a leave of absence, or, in the rare case, removal through the bylaws' procedure.
The Senior Pastor and Elder Board are informed as appropriate to the concern.
Nothing in this form short-cuts the bylaws. Everything in this form is meant to keep such situations rare — by naming drift early, caring for one another well, and keeping our offices held by people who are still walking worthy of them.