Many Seventh-day Adventist churches world-wide receive their primary pastoral leadership from local church elders in place of employed ministers. Therefore, the Ministerial Association is responsible for encouraging and training this vital group of laity leaders.

The Elder's Training department:

• Helps both pastors and elders understand the biblical function of elders in the local congregation.
  
• Motivates ministerial secretaries to organize and conduct seminars for training elders.
  
• Encourages unions and conferences to include elders in resource distribution plans--books, DVD's, study courses, etc.
  
• Asks conferences to include elders in some pastoral meetings to provide ongoing interaction between these pastor/elder teams.
  
• Provides incentives for pastors to train elders to become trainers of other church leaders.
  
• Trains elders for vital roles in local church administration, leadership, nurture, and evangelism.
  
• Provides resources to enhance the work of elders.