Discovering and Developing Your Deacons


Book Description

Whether you are in a new church or a more established one, if you have a congregation, you have a growing need for more servants. You need others to help you. Yet you may not know where to start or how to proceed with identifying, enlisting, equipping, and engaging servant-leaders for your church. In Discovering and Developing Your Deacons, you will find the help you need. If you are wondering whether or not you even need the ministry of Deacons, or if youd like to know more about the process of discovering the right way to find them, this book is for you. You may have questions about the characteristics of men who can serve and how you can identify those qualities. This book answers clearly and concisely ten of the most often asked questions related to starting or restarting an effective Deacon ministry. It is not Gods intention that a Pastor and one or two other leaders perform all needed ministry. This is akin to what God intended for the Apostles in Acts 6, when they had become overwhelmed with the ministry needs of a multiplying church. This book details how to find the kind of men described in Acts 6not only find them but identify them by their reputation, character qualities, and servant hearts. This is a process that can be undertaken by any church that sees the need and has a desire to follow clear, scripturally-based guidelines.




Deacon Training


Book Description

Indifference toward deacon development places the church in a precarious state. By and large, congregations stand to be weakened by deacons who have not discovered the exciting possibilities of the office. When pastor and congregation disregard the need to have trained deacons, the office is allowed to recede into one of mere honor rather than service established in Christ. On the other hand, trained deacons or those in training discover exciting opportunities with which the office of deacons is filled. They come to perceive the office as one of service rather than honor. The church is strengthened exceedingly by their effective and efficient leadership under the sight of the pastor. Unquestionable, God is looking for a special breed of deacons-a New Testament breed who are Spirit-filled and qualified. To say that deacons are qualified is to say also that they are trained for the work of deacons.




The Seven


Book Description

Do you know what it means to be a deacon? Is this office in the church still relevant today? Dr. Lonnie Davis Wesley believes that deacons have an important role to play, but that church traditions and failures in leadership and education have often made deacons ineffective, or given them tasks to which they are not called and for which they are not equipped. He goes back to the first deacons, chosen and set apart in Acts 6, for a model for the ministry of deacons in the modern church. In doing so, he finds that we need to re-learn and re-apply the lessons of scripture and history so that the church can be fully effective in ministry. The Seven: Taking a Closer Look at What It Means to Be a Deacon is a comprehensive guide to reforming and recharging your church’s deacon ministry. It includes guides to help you develop an education program to prepare deacons for ministry, and to aid your congregation in supporting that ministry. This book may be read by individuals, but it will find its greatest use as a tool for building a strong deacon ministry in any congregation.




Deacons


Book Description

How Can Deacons Mobilize Service in the Church? Deacons are essential to a church's health—yet confusion abounds regarding their biblical job description. What's their God-given role in a local congregation and how do they relate to the church's overall mission? In this short book, Matt Smethurst makes the case that deacons are model servants called to meet tangible needs, organize and mobilize acts of service, preserve the unity of the flock, and support the ministry of the elders. Clearing away common misconceptions, Smethurst offers practical guidance for deploying deacons and helping churches to flourish.




Being a Deacon Today


Book Description

A theological explanation and practical handbook for those preparing for a diaconate in today’s church. All too often the time spent as a deacon is seen simply as the prelude to priestly ordination. Yet the Bible defines three orders of ministry - deacon, priest, and bishop - each with its own distinctive characteristics and responsibilities. In Being A Deacon Today, Brown explores the three places where deacons minister (the church, the world, and at the margins), the three strands of their ministry (in liturgy, in pastoral care, and as catechists), and the three actions of their ministry (praying, loving, and remembering). This book, excellent for classroom use and for transitional and permanent deacons, will restore a fuller understanding of the diaconal ministry and nurture deacons in their work and spiritual life.




Descriptive Duties of Deacons


Book Description

Almost every church in America has selected and ordained Deacons for service to their congregations. Most of these Deacons have learned their duties by on-the-job experiences. However, many Deacons, even years after their ordination, still ask the question, What am I supposed to do? This book, Descriptive Duties of Deacons, answers that question in clearly definitive ways. You need not feel overwhelmed, unsuited for certain areas of service, or burdened by watching other Deacons in your church and thinking you have to do everything they do. This guidebook shows numerous options for ministry that can fit with your spiritual gifts, talents, training, and personality. These ministry options will help you find your niche in Gods work. God does not intend for you to do everything nor to do your duties by yourself. He has placed you in a local church where a Pastor, ministry staff, and numerous volunteers can serve with you. The various duties described here will help you to better understand what both you and your fellow Deacons need to be doing individually and together. Follow this guidebook, and you may never again ask the question, What am I supposed to do as a Deacon?




The Emerging Role of Deacons


Book Description

A summary of the biblical, historical, and practical role of deacons in the church.




Your Calling as a Deacon


Book Description

This resource for individual and group study explores what it means to be a deacon in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Addressing both the leadership and spiritual requirements of the position, Your Calling as a Deacon offers new and seasoned deacons the direction, understanding, and encouragement to serve God and church.







Now That You're a Deacon


Book Description

A combination of practical guidance and inspiration on character, relationship to church and pastor, stewardship, missions and more.