Companions in the Ministry are elders or spiritual companions with deep spiritual maturity. They accompany people to act faithfully. FGC encourages all workshop leaders at our annual event, The Gathering, to have someone accompany them spiritually. The page below is written with workshop leaders in mind, but may be adapted for other uses in Quaker ministry.
Companions in the Ministry may:
- Hold the event leader and participants in prayer. This happens before, during, and after the workshop
- Support the event leader in being open to the guidance of the Spirit
- Concentrate on practical details of the workshop or event, such as people having enough water or a comfortable temperature. This helps the leader to focus on other forms of support
- Provide discernment about group dynamics. This might look like a check-in conversation at lunch or a time of listening as the leader vents about a difficult person.
- Provide insight about how Spirit may be leading the group right now / this week / this afternoon
- Model prayerful attentiveness during the event itself.
- Provide prayerful, loving feedback for the leader or leaders. Accountability is an important job for elders and spiritual companions.
There are many ways to be an elder, or companion in ministry. A major spiritual task of all elders is to hold the minister and the gathering in prayer. This begins as soon as the companion accepts the assignment to travel. Long before the actual travel begins, the companion holds the group in prayer, asking God to provide the message that is needed, to prepare ears and hearts to receive it, and to guide the minister in delivering it faithfully. If the event is online, then the elder or companion may change their name listed on the video call to reflect their role, such as “Elder: Michael.”
During the visit, the companion in ministry models prayerful attentiveness, holding the minister and the meeting in the Light. Often the companion in ministry will not contribute outwardly to the discussion. Occasionally, they will offer a summary or observation, which is just as important as their loving prayer.
The traveling companion pays attention to practical details. This person ensures that the minister receives the spiritual and physical rest they need to be able to stay open to the Spirit and remain faithful during the visit.
Elders Come at Any Age
Ministers and elders can be people of any age. Younger and older Friends bring different gifts, and all of them are vital for a healthy and thriving Religious Society of Friends. If you have a Friend in your meeting with a gift for ministry who is in middle or high school, ask them if they’d like a peer to accompany them. For more information, see Intergenerational Spaces That Empower
Traveling Among Friends
Traveling in the ministry with a companion has been a practice that goes back to the very early days of Friends, when the Valiant Sixty traveled out in pairs. Long before that time, Jesus sent out his disciples two by two to “proclaim the good news that the kingdom of heaven has come near.” In today’s times, physical travel is sometimes unnecessary, though Friends still affirm the value of spiritual companions working together in pairs. Traveling as a minister-elder pair helps to ensure accountability. It grounds the ministry in God or the Divine and offers support to the ministry.
Traveling in the ministry is similar to intervisitation, in which a person visits a new Quaker community to share ideas and updates. Both involve a spiritual call, although there are slight nuances between the two. Intervisitation does not always involve an elder.
Elders and Ministers
A companion in the ministry can help to discern the movement of the Spirit, test leadings, and seek prayerful support. If the person traveling in the ministry has been invited to speak or lead a retreat, they may ask their elder to join discern, through prayer and conversation, the extent of faithfulness present. It can be extremely valuable for the person traveling in the ministry to be able to compare their observations to those of another trusted Friend.
The relationship between the two traveling Friends can take a variety of forms. Exchanges may be fluid as both Friends discern the will of Spirit. Neither humans nor the Spirit fit very well inside tight boxes. Sometimes two Friends are called to travel in the ministry and work together, moving back and forth between leadership and companion roles. Sometimes a Friend not as experienced in travel may accompany a more seasoned Friend to serve as support and at the same time season their own calling. The amount of time that people travel together may be for one workshop, one week, one year, or many years.
Historical Notes on Eldership
An elder is a Friend who’s steeped in the wisdom of Friends’ tradition, who has a long-term concern for the spiritual life of the body, and who carries a gift for discernment. Elders help to build faithfulness to one’s call and endurance along the way. There are many definitions of an elder, and these definitions have changed over time. Some Friends think of an elder as someone who scolds and corrects, though true eldership is not based on judgment.
Traditionally, Friends understood an elder as someone who received gifts for the spiritual growth and nurture of their local meeting. That is where the elder’s often quiet and nearly-invisible work took place. In the past, if an elder moved to another meeting, their recording as an elder was not transferred. It remained to be seen if the gifts needed for the new meeting would be given, or not. Ministers, on the other hand, were expected to exercise their gifts at home and abroad. Their recording went with them if they moved.
More Resources
An Invitation to Quaker Eldering, available at QuakerBooks. A guide for elders, both new and well-seasoned. Written collectively by Elaine Emily, Mary Kay Glazer, Janet Gibian Hough, and Bruce Neumann.
Page last updated December 18, 2025. Some text on this page originated from information from the FGC Traveling Ministries Program in January 2005.