Ivan,
All the best to you and your church! It is very exciting to hear about new growth. I am a pastor in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), so I can really only speak to how we work within a denominational structure, but I'll do my best to help out.
The presbyterian structure is "connectional," meaning that our congregations join with others to form "presbyteries," larger regional families of churches that combine for missions and other cooperative work.
The congregation itself is basically run by what we call "the session," which is a board of elders. The pastor moderates these meetings, but the elders really carry a great deal of responsibility. Every few years, some of the elders rotate off of session and new elders rotate on.
An elder is elected by the congregation. There will be a nominating committee that will help locate people willing and able to serve, and recommend to the congregation the person that they feel is called to the position. The congregation may also nominate people, and the congregation has the final say in who becomes an elder. Once an elder is ordained, they are ordained for life -- and those that are on session are called "active" or "ruling" elders. (In some presbyterian circles, the name for a pastor is "teaching elder.")
Many presbyterian churches, but not all, also have deacons, an ordained position that deals with congregational care issues. The process for election is similar to that of Session. Some churches choose to do this so that the elders can focus on the spiritual needs of the congregation, and the deacons on the physical needs.
Some churches also have a Board of Trustees, which deals with things like the property and finances and very practical things like that. Trustee is not an ordained position, but it is chosen in a way similar to elder and deacon.
My particular congregation combines all these responsibilities in Session, with the elders taking on these roles. Each elder also leads a committee of members who deal with all different areas of the church's ministry, including evangelism & outreach, congregational care, Christian education, finances, maintenance, worship, etc. Anyone who wants to may serve on these committees.
A pastor is chosen by the congregation with the assistance of a special committee to review all the applicants. The presbytery gives final approval to the choice of a pastor, and the denomination as a whole facilitates the matching process.
As for what ordination means for me... that's a heavy question. As a new pastor, I think I am still learning what it means for me to be ordained. In one sense, it means that my church has recognized my gifts and calling for ministry, and have affirmed God's particular calling on my life. But maybe that's the "easy" answer -- ordination, to me, affects who I am and what I am and where God is leading me. You could say it is an outward expression of an inward call. It designates specific responsibilities that I have, namely to preach the Word and administer the sacraments (baptism and the Lord's Supper). I more and more see my ordination as a huge privilege, because it reflects a calling that is a huge privilege: to serve God and His people.
I don't know if my rambling has helped, but feel free to ask any questions. I would love to hear more about your congregation -- please update us and let us know how we can pray for you, brother!
