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ABOUT the ETR

The Elders Teaching Resource is a help to the Elder Body of the Apostolic Christian Church of America

Background

After presenting the Elder Committee (EC) at the August 2018 conference with an idea to consider structured teaching for our ministers, they asked for a summary to be shared with the full Elder body. There was support for working with brother Fred Witzig and others to develop a framework for ‘equipping our ministers’ to be shared at the March 2019 Elder Conference in Smithville, OH. In addition and subsequently, the Elder Planning Committee (EPC) decided to include this topic at the Elder/Ordained Deacon forums to be held in Chicago in January 2019. The Forums assessed the interest level, concerns and considerations for adopting structured teaching for our ministers (ministers inclusive of Elders and Ordained Deacons).

Mission

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  • Help ground our ministers and Sunday School teachers in sound doctrine

  • Lend strength to the Four Pillar Mission of our church:

    • Clarifying and teaching our understanding of the Gospel

    • Supporting and promoting sanctification through sound doctrine—not undue exploration of abstract theology—particularly in areas that belong to God (Deut 29:29), to provide theological guidance for the purpose of godly living

    • ‘Preserve Sound Doctrine’ in the face of a postmodern, post-Christian Worldview

    • Provide solid foundation for ‘Nurturing the Believer’ and ‘Reaching the Lost’

    • Support service-oriented organizations of the church through teaching and preparation of the servants, including missionaries

  • Foster unity in our denomination, across our pulpits and in the pews. Firmly establish our identity working closely with the Vision task force—through teaching and consistent preaching on core Apostolic Christian doctrines. This becomes particularly important in the digital age where our people have access to myriad external sources from popular theologians.

Leadership

A Doctrinal / Teaching Stewardship committee directs and approves content including topics and order of study. In addition the committee approves teaching methods and approve materials. The committee currently includes:

  1. Nick Gutwein, Chairman (West Lafayette)

  2. Tim Funk (Peoria)

  3. Ron Messner (Washington)

  4. Ben Wiegand (Philadelphia)

  5. Arlan Miller (Gridley)

  6. Fred Witzig (Washington)

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Alissa Gerber (West Lafayette) is the Administrative Assistant

This is very much a work in process, and without prayer and counsel and the Holy Spirit’s guidance it cannot be a blessing. Emphasis will be placed on these three things as we seek to strengthen our church by God’s grace and provision.

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At the Elder/Minister meeting at the Bluffton Conference, a brief overview of the ETR was given to the ministry of the ACCA. This session also included a panel discussion which focused on several commonly asked questions regarding the ETR. You can watch this session by clicking on the video below.

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Overview Video

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