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 Deacons are servants.
Every church member is to serve Christ and one another. (John 13:34-35)
Deacons are set apart within the church body with special responsibilities
for the care and needs of the congregation,
and
to allow the pastor to give his attention
"to prayer and the ministry of the word".
The origin of the deacon ministry is seen in Acts 6:1-5
"In those days when the number of disciples was increasing,
the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews
because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said,
'It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God
in order to wait on tables.
Brothers, choose seven men from among you
who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.
We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention
to prayer and the ministry of the word."
Biblical qualifications for deacons are presented in I Timothy 3:8-13.
Here is how one church elects deacons:
The church will nominate men to serve as deacons.
The deacon nominating committee contacts the nominees
and provides them
with the qualifications of deacons.
The nominees are informed as to their possible responsibilities.
They pray together to discern God's will.
Then
the nominees are given a reasonable period of time
to pray about this important decision.
The deacon nominating committee presents
the nominees to the church for approval.
Responsibilities of deacons can be:
Pray with the pastor prior to the Sunday morning worship service.
Hospital visits.
Funeral home visits.
Visit
homebound shut-ins.
Be faithful in attendance to all deacon meetings.
Serve the Lord's Supper.
Be faithful at all services of the church.
Be a witness of the Lord by word and life.
Every deacon should be a tither.
Be willing to serve on committees.
Be an encourager.
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