It is not enough merely to have an eldership. The eldership must be actively functioning, competent and spiritually alive. The lack of elder and deacon training is an extremely critical problem. We are not training the very men who lead and have oversight of our churches. We erroneously believe that our serving elders and deacons understand spiritual oversight and care, but in fact our churches are filled with elders and deacons who confess that they are unprepared and untrained for their work. The Study Guide provides twelve comprehensive lessons regarding biblical eldership principles. It is designed for use by the prospective new elder under the direction of a mentoring elder, or could also be used in group study.