Blessed Life Fellowship differs from many denominational churches in its structure of church government. Most mainline churches maintain either a congregational form of church government, a Presbyterian form, or an Episcopal form of governing their churches.

The congregational form of church government is an American invention and appeals to our American sense of democracy. Basically, the congregation as a whole makes all decisions in these churches by voting on matters of importance and appointing committees from its ranks to run the daily operation of the church. The congregation votes on hiring a pastor, votes on how to spend money, and on anything else of importance. Although democratic people like this idea, congregational forms of church government often wind up, at best, causing the pastor to be directed by the sheep he is supposed to lead, and, at worst, reducing the pastor to a hireling.

In the Episcopal form of church government there is a bishop, or someone of similar stature (sometimes called by different titles), who oversees the churches, appoints pastors to pulpits, sets policy and guides the vision of the local congregations. This leaves little freedom for the local pastor or congregation to follow the leading of the Spirit.

The Presbyterian form of church government puts the decisions of church policy in the hands of a select group of elders (the “presbytery”) who are appointed in various different ways, depending on the church. These elders are over the pastor, who in turn is over the congregation. The problem here, too, is that this system puts the God-appointed leader — the pastor — under some of those he is supposed to lead.

Blessed Life Fellowship is organized differently. As an independent, non-denominational body, church government at BLF is very simple, not a complex bureaucracy. Committees and subcommittees are essentially nonexistent. Basically, at BLF, we believe that the pastor is responsible for the church, responsible to hear from God in His Word, and responsible to feed and love His people faithfully. Elders will be appointed as we grow larger to help the pastor care for the spiritual needs of the congregation.

At Blessed Life Fellowship, church organization is de-emphasized, and only the organization that is needed to run the church is instituted. The pastor guides the church as he is led by the Holy Spirit, and we trust God to put pastors where He wants them to be.  We do currently maintain a Board and a counsel of leaders. (See chapter 6 in Pastor Andy’s book, The Shepherd and the Flock, for a thorough and detailed discussion on the various forms of church government.)

All that said, feedback, input, suggestions, and even constructive criticism is nevertheless welcome by Pastor Andy, and Pastor Andy also maintains accountability regarding his character to Godly men both within the church and outside of it.

A: As stated on the page on this website dealing with church government, the structure of Blessed Life Fellowship is simple, and not a complex bureaucracy with lots of committees and endless meetings.  As the size of the church grows, more committees and meetings may be required.  But for now, issues are dealt with as they come up, and, so far, this method has been effective in running the various elements of the church very simply and without spending a lot of time in meetings. Pastor Andy and Donna do maintain unto themselves the right and privilege as the founders and owners of the church to direct the affairs of the ministry and to make the final decisions on any matters of controversy that arise. However, Pastor Andy and Donna also maintain a Council Board consisting of people who they rely on as trusted friends and ministry partners who help advise them.  Pastor Andy and Donna are free to decide how the money in the church is spent and where various contributions go, but they are responsible to provide receipts for all transactions and must obviously maintain integrity and transparency with how they handle the church’s funds.  

In addition to being responsible to the congregation for their integrity in all matters, Pastor Andy and Donna have also submitted themselves by their own volition to the oversight of an apostolic overseers outside of the church — Dr. Jerry King of Kingdom Covenant Churches and Ministries in Ft. Worth Texas, who provides additional guidance and mentoring, and who has the right to bring correction and rebuke to Pastor Andy and Donna, and who has the right to bring to the attention of the congregation any matters related to the character of Pastor Andy and Donna that could negatively effect the church.

A: Absolutely.  God has placed everyone in the Body as He sees fit, and everyone has something to contribute and everyone has knowledge, wisdom, and expertise in certain areas.  There have been a few occasions where Pastor Andy has gladly accepted the constructive input of someone in the congregation and changed courses as a result.  However, Pastor Andy, as stated above, does reserve the right to not implement any suggestion that is not in keeping with the vision and mission that God has given him for the church.  Pastor Andy is also very welcoming of different theological and doctrinal perspectives that anyone wishes to discuss.  However, Pastor Andy encourages anyone who wishes to engage him in discussion on matters of debate to come with a well-studied and thoroughly referenced thesis from the scriptures prior to any such conversation.

A: There are many opportunities to use your unique gifts and callings at Blessed Life Fellowship.  However, gifts and callings involving higher levels of visibility, responsibility, and influence require that a person first serve in smaller, less visible roles to prove one’s character and commitment.  Unfortunately, Pastor Andy has learned the hard way that people will often present themselves early in a relationship with their pastor much different than what their true character represents, and when someone has been placed in a position of influence too early and then their true character is discovered when difficulties arise, the result can be very damaging to the church.  Thus, every worker at Blessed LIfe Fellowship must prove their humility, diligence and willingness to serve in smaller roles before being promoted to more influential roles.  (See Luke 16:10-12) 

Click on the links below to access Pastor Andy’s blog articles on these other topics.