Whats the difference between a minister and a pastor?
A pastor is an elder, whereas a minister is just a preacher. If we look at God’s word here it says that the difference is a pastor is a man who holds an office, which he must have certain qualifications, for that are set forth in Titus and 1 Timothy. A pastor is an elder. The Greek word for pastor is “poimain” which means shepherd. In Titus 1:5 it says to appoint elders in every city, then in verse 7 it calls them overseers which is where we get our word pastor from. In Acts 20:28, Paul is talking to the elders (vs 17, Greek “presbuterous”) and he says “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (shepherds, or pastors), to shepherd (or pastor) the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” Here we see that a pastor is an elder. 1 Timothy 3:1-7 says “if any man aspires to the office of overseer…” here we learn that overseer is an office within the church. The term pastor, elder, overseer, shepherd, and bishop all ref
