What are elders?
Elders are the leaders of the church also called pastors, bishops, and overseers in the New Testament (Eph 4:11; 1 Pet 5:2; Acts 20:28). The elders are men chosen for their ministry according to clear biblical qualifications (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). The elders are always spoken of in plurality because God intends for more than one man to lead and rule over the church as a safeguard for both the church and the man.
Meet our Planting Elder
Ryan Huguley
Lead Pastor for Preaching and Vision
I was born in Corvalis, Oregon but due to my dad being in the military, I grew up all over the US. Jesus saved me at the age of 6 and since that time my story has been one of Jesus’ faithfulness in the midst of my unfaithfulness. I came to Chicago in order to play college football and began to sense God’s call to pastor and plant churches that exist to know Jesus and make Him known. I live in downtown Palatine with my wife, Tami and our two kids, Ava and Ryder.
How are elders identified and installed at Redemption?
Because the majority of biblical qualifications for eldership are based on a man’s character, it requires an extended season of relationship to ensure a man is genuinely qualified to lead the church.
Once a man has been a member in good standing at Redemption for a minimum of 6 months they are encouraged to make their aspiration toward eldership known to the existing elders. The existing council of elders must then make a unanimous decision to approve this man for elder candidacy.
Men approved for candidacy then step into a 12-month season of rigorous training, testing and assessment in areas of doctrine, pastoral counseling, and leadership. After the candidacy phase is completed the existing council of elders must again unanimously approve a man before he is fully installed as an elder at Redemption.
Meet our Elders
Tyler Drewitz
Executive Pastor
I was born in Rapid City, South Dakota and lived there until I was 18 years old. Jesus saved me at the age of 6 through the Awana Clubs program. The ministry call on my life came at a very young age as well. Through my spiritual journey, God lead me a different direction that I originally had believed he would which included me coming to the Chicagoland area in 2000 for 4 years and returning in the fall of 2009 to assist in planting Redemption. Prior to coming on full-time staff with Redemption in January of 2011, I had worked for Starbucks in a variety of positions over the prior 10 years and most recently worked as a District Manager.
Ashley Herr
I was raised on a farm in Southeast Iowa. Although I have known Christ for as long as I can remember, I feel that it was not until the planting of Redemption that I began walking in light of the gospel, seeing the sovereignty of God and the depth of my sin. It was here where I truly came to know that it was by His grace that I was saved and also why He chose to save me. My wife, Jill, and our sons Ethan and Sean currently live in Arlington Heights with our dog Teyeger. I graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in electrical engineering and currently work for Motorola.
Scott Holthaus
I was born and raised in Mundelein, IL. God saved me at a young age and continued in grace to keep me and discipline me through seasons of rebellion. Around the age of 14 God called me to ministry, specifically through music and art. I now live with my wife Becky and our son Cohen in Arlington Heights and work as a Store Manager for Starbucks.
What do elders do?
At Redemption the elder’s primary responsibility is the oversight of Doctrine, Direction and Discipline.
Doctrine
Elders are responsible to teach the Bible accurately (Eph. 4:11; 1 Tim. 3:2), preach (1 Tim. 5:17); teach sound doctrine and refute false teaching (Titus 1:9), protect the church from false teachers (Acts 20:17-31) and care for the people comprising the church (1 Pet. 5:2-5; James 5:13-15).
Direction
Elders are responsible to rule and lead the church (1 Tim. 5:17), manage the church (1 Tim. 3:4-5), give an account for the church (Heb. 13:17), rightly stewarding the money of the church (1 Pet. 5:1-3) and training other leaders and teachers in the church (Eph. 4:11-16; 2 Tim. 2:1-2).
Discipline
Elders are responsible to care for the people comprising the church (1 Pet. 5:2-5; James 5:13-15), to live exemplary lives (Heb. 13:7), to rightly use the authority God has entrusted to them (Acts 20:28), and disciplining unrepentant Christians (Matt. 18:15-17).