CAN ELDERS OVERSEE MORE THAN ONE CONGREGATION?
Dear Bro. Waddey:
It is scriptural for elders of a church to start new congregations and keep them under their oversight? Fred.
Dear Bro. Fred:
Every congregation should have as its goal to plant new congregations in those places where they do not presently exist. That is our mission (Matt. 28:19-20).
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God created his church with local, internal self-government. Elders in every church (Acts 14:23). |
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We have no evidence of the elders or leaders of one congregation exercising authority over the affairs of another church. |
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The development of a diocesan system of one strong church and its leaders assuming authority over small, weaker churches was one of the first steps of departure that eventually led to the development of the Bishop of Rome's claim to control all the churches of the world. |
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It would not be wrong if the members of a congregation who assemble at a central place each Lord's day had other gatherings for prayer or Bible study in their homes. They would simply be members of that one central congregation, putting their faith into practice throughout the week. But when they begin to function as a new congregation they are responsible to Christ the head of the church and not to their former elders. |
It often happens that brethren, who are not well-grounded in Scripture, will undertake some project such as you describe, not intending to disobey God, but in their limited knowledge they inadvertently create an unauthorized situation. Perhaps these observations will be helpful to both you and the leaders of the congregation where you serve. 
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