Leadership
Christ has given us Spirit-equipped men to lead the congregation, minister to its needs, and build it up through the ministry of the word and sacraments. These leaders are called to serve in the name and authority of Christ as His servants.
Our leadership is made up of a pastor, two elders, and one deacon who are called and equipped of God to oversee the church and to shepherd its members.
“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”–Acts 20:8
Our pastor is trained and experienced to serve the congregation in a full-time capacity. As a shepherd of the flock of God, he focuses particularly on feeding the sheep with God’s Word. You will be deeply enriched and engaged by the gifts of our pastor as he unfolds to you the riches of God’s infallible Word.
Pastor Mancilas has been a pastor in the Reformed Church in the United States since April 1999. He served the Grace Reformed Church congregation in Lancaster, California, before joining Covenant Reformed Church in Chico in 2002. Prior to his association with the Reformed Church in the United States, Pastor Mancilas was a minister and pastor in the Assemblies of God denomination.
The Spiritual Council
Our elders, David Helseth, Jim Gochnauer and Chris Hekman, serve with the pastor as a body that serves and governs the congregation, which is called the Spiritual Council. As these gifted men of God join together, they pray, discuss, and seek God’s will on the key matters in the life of the church. As equal in authority though differing in gifts, they provide stability to God’s flock. Our pastor and elders are men of compassion and wisdom. They have many years of experience in tending the flock. They bring unique abilities to provide counsel to marriages, families, and individuals who are struggling with sin and other maladies of the soul.
“It shall be the duty of the elders, that they, with the pastor, rule over the congregation after the Apostolic example, exercising church discipline as the Scriptures command in Matthew 18:15-18 and as the Heidelberg Catechism sets forth (Q’s 83, 85). The elders are appointed to assist and support the ministers of the Word in the general government of the church: They form, with the minister, in each particular congregation, a council in common for the spiritual supervision of the flock which is committed to their care.”
Deacons
Our deacons, Scott McAfee and William Boylan, serve in many capacities. They help manage the finances of the church and maintain the physical resources of the congregation. The diaconate assists and supports the other officers of the congregation and promotes its general welfare. The poor and needy are cared for as finances permit, and the charities of the church are properly dispensed.
In discharging these duties, however, sight is not lost of the true spiritual character of the office. Although it may be thus occupied with outward and temporal things, yet it remains always a proper branch of the Christian ministry, the purpose of which in all things can only be the glory of God and the preeminence of Christ. It is the prayer of the diaconate that by word and example it will help forward the great purpose of the Gospel, making the ministrations to the bodily necessities of the poor the occasion and means of a still better benefit to their souls.
“It shall be the duty of the deacons to assist and support the other officers of the congregation, and to promote its general welfare. They are to labor among the people in making known to them the needs of the church, fostering the principle of stewardship, and thereby cultivating the spirit of liberal and cheerful giving.”