LEADERSHIP AT CITY OF JOY ELDERS: We have no problem stating that eldership is exclusively male. However, we purposely use the vocabulary of "couples". An elder's wife within City of Joy is not just a wife. She is a recognised leader with gifts and qualities that compliment and help qualify her husband as well as add richness to the City of Joy family. Eldership couples are gifted people of character who have been called, recognized, and ordained to lead the church. Our biblical conviction is that the highest form of human government in a church is that of a team of elders. We believe in the plurality of elders, mutually accountable to one another, who oversee every aspect of church life, and are led by a visionary or lead elder (Acts 20:17 -28; Titus 1:5,7; 1 Pet 2:25 ; 5:1,2.   Direction, Doctrine and Discipline within City of Joy is exclusively from eldership.     Lead Eldership couple Rick & Amy Brooks   Rick and Amy lead the Church leadership team. They are responsible for ensuring that City of Joy reach the fullness of their apostolic mandate of being a base church sending and releasing members to reach their neighbourhoods and the nations.   Amy loves cooking and Rick loves eating - a match made in heaven! They have been married 15 years. They have three children, Hannah, Joshua and Abigail. Whilst no more children are anticipated, they have had more false alarms than Aberdeen Fire brigade - so keep an eye on 'latest news'. Originally from England, they were trained for ministry by the Assemblies of God in England where Rick was a youth pastor. Rick & Amy planted City of Joy in Aberdeen in 2002 after a decade of prophetic words pointing the way. Rick has an honours degree in Divinity from Aberdeen University and has Masters in both philosophy and science from Lancaster University. Rick & Amy are both part of the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministries Leadership Development Program.   Administration & Events Cameron & Valerie Boyd Originally from New York and Ohio respectively, Cameron and Valerie have been with City of Joy since 2005. Cameron who became a Christian at City of Joy, is renowned for his New York-Italian 'style' cooking. Valerie likes to travel and take photos. Cameron is an Engineer having graduated from Ohio State University and Valerie, formerly an investment accountant with Aberdeen Asset Management - having also graduated from Ohio State University - keeps our accounts in good order as well as being a full-time mom. They have two children, Sydney and Serena.   Youth & Students  Tharaka & Isla Gunarathne Originally from Scotland, Tharaka and Isla joined us in Spring 2007 after experiencing the move of the Holy Spirit on a visit to City of Joy. They having spent  their whole Christian life (from Salvation through to marriage) at a very solid Baptist Church in Aberdeen. Their lives have been transformed. They are a living testimony of what happens when the Spirit and Word come together in peoples lives They are both medical doctors. Tharaka is 'Mr. Ideas', a former black-belt in Karate and a proficient breakdancer (seriously!). Isla is a nationally recognised musician who makes the fiddle, violin, and bagpipes look extremely easy to play. Tharaka and Isla lead the Base & Awaken Groups (12-20's)  and our Alive and Kicking (2-11's) Sunday teams.   Outreach & Evangelism Theuns & Tracey Van Loggerenberg   Theuns and Tracey are originally from Richards Bay in South Africa. Both are I.T. engineers and have a passion for reaching people. Theuns, another former martial arts expert, left behind his multi-dojo business to pursue a new life in Christ in 2006. They are both instrumental in running Aberdeen's Healing On The Streets (HOTS) and regularly lead outreach training programmes enabling others to be equipped and involved in outreach. They are both part of the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministries Leadership Development Program.   __________________________ DEACONS – Deacons: these are men and women who work closely with the elders by serving as senior leaders (see Acts 6, 1 Tim 3). While both elders and deacons are servants, deacons are servants qualified and appointed to help the elders oversee and care for God's people. They are mentioned in the New Testament in relation to elders because the two groups of leaders work closely together. (Phil 1:1).   Deaconing Team Theuns and Tracey Van Loggerenburg - City Lifegroups Kenny Gilmour & Iona Mclachlan - Awaken Lifegroup (20's group) Tim & Lauren McIllroy - Base Youth (12-19s) Scott & Vikki Umdasch Clements - Catering Aileen Nisbet - Inhouse Administration Elisabeth Kaup - Single Parents (Mondays)     Aberdeen Ministry Team Leaders Rick Brooks - Souled Out Ministry team coordinator (Organisation Committee) Theuns & Tracey van Loggerenberg - Healing On The Streets (HOTS) team leaders      GENERAL LEADERSHIP INFORMATON THE LAYOUT OF LEADERSHIP AT CITY OF JOY  - Jesus is the head of the Church (Eph 1v18-23)  - Apostles and prophets are regularly invited in to help lay solid foundations to help us stay on course (Eph 4, Acts 11-14).  - Elders/overseers/pastors: scripture presents a team of male elders who oversee the church by guarding, guiding and governing the local congregation (see Acts 14v23, Acts 20v28, 1 Tim 5v17, 1 Tim 3, Titus 1 & 2, 1 Pet 5).