How We Function

The Mill Christian Fellowship is a Baptist Church. Historically, Baptist church government operates with one Elder (the pastor) and a board of deacons. This is known as the Two Offices. With this system, the calling of a pastor or a deacon rests solely on the congregation, which also vote on all major decisions. As such, Deacons serve more as an advisory board, and all major decisions are brought before the church body.

At The Mill, we desire to remain in our Baptist roots of church government but recognise potential concerns with such governance, so the church operates with a plurality of elders – which is why, reading through the website, one will often see the term Historic Baptist Traditions. We firmly believe Scripture expresses a need to have more than one elder, and the senior pastor is one of several others serving as an elder (Acts 15:2, 16:4, 20:17, 21:18; Phil 1:1). The senior pastor is an equal among the elders. However, the senior pastor is not an employee of the board, which provides a unique relationship in his calling to lead the church in preaching, teaching, vision and mission. The senior pastor does not control the board of elders, or vice versa – it is a healthy balance of Christ-like submission and example of established elders in Scripture.

At TMCF, the senior pastor does not have all authority over the congregation; such authority is dispersed with a group of qualified, called elders. The elders, as a whole, are responsible to Christ first, who is the head of the church (Eph 1:22-23; Col 1:18), and to the congregation. As a whole, the elders represent the congregation, not their own agendas or ideas. They assist the pastor with his mission and each other with their area of oversight. Often, the question is asked, “Who can be an elder at The Mill?” Elders are men who have gone through the required training on biblical manhood, served as deacons, received examination, qualified in both doctrine and character and finally commissioned. The Mill does not choose men strictly based on reputation, business, sway or even education, only through much examination and prayer.  All elders (except the senior pastor) are church members in good standing and voluntarily serve for a specific duration. 

TMCF also has a board of deacons. Deacons have no authority in the church but take on the benevolent needs of the community (Acts 6:1-7) so that the elders can focus on spiritual oversight of the church. Deacons ensure the church is functioning smoothly and assist with ushering, fellowship meals and other events at the church.

TMCF is a federal not-for-profit incorporated church. To ensure accountability to all tithes and offerings and compliance with Canadian charity law, TMCF has a board of Directors. The board of directors has no spiritual authority over the congregation or control of the board of elders. They serve by assisting (serving) the elders in providing resources or initiating funding goals for the future planning of the church and its activities.

To summarise, TMCF operates as a plurality of elders with a Baptist distinction. The men who serve are accountable to Christ, each other and lead the congregation. The congregation has a voice and votes on major issues—all desire to walk within the healthy boundaries of church government, as Scripture indicates.