My advice to young men concerning preparing themselves to be Elders

- Don’t seek the office, let the office seek you.

- Work hard to be the best servant of God you can be. The rest of it (being an Elder) will take care of itself.

- Dedicate yourselves to understanding the Bible. Know the Old Testament as well as you know the New Testament. A lot of problems in the church are a direct result of weak knowledge.

- Learn to be an effective teacher. Study those who are effective at teaching and imitate them.

- Search out opportunities to teach.

- Live what you teach. Don’t be a hypocrite.

- Work on being a good husband and a good father. Those relationships are the training ground for leading a congregation of people.

- Get to know everyone in the congregation. Especially the old people, the widows and the kids. Find the person who seems to have no friends and become his/her friend.

- Practice putting the needs of others before your own needs and wants.

- Enjoy all of God’s creation and rejoice in it. Be a happy person.