The Appointment of Deacons
March 5, 2010
Dear Emmanuel Church,
I am excited to announce an important development regarding the servant leadership at our church – the appointment of deacons.
Over the past three years, the elders and the pastors have reaffirmed the primary role of the elders as the spiritual shepherds of the church. We have made some important changes to achieve this, including meeting twice a month and dedicating more time to study and prayer together. The development of the elder board, as an united group dedicated to shepherding our church, has been encouraging.
An important part of this process has been to minimize the amount of practical business and ministry details that the elders and pastors must be involved with. Thanks to our competent and dedicated ministry staff, much of the practical business of the church is no longer demanding time from the elders. Now, with the appointment of deacons, we will be able to have faithful men and women working alongside of us to facilitate the ministry at our church.
The elders developed a written description of the importance and role of deacons. The complete document will be available at church and on our web site. However, part of this document clearly states:
Purpose: The purpose of a deacon is to provide practical help and service in ways that support and empower the leadership, ministries and the mission of Emmanuel Church.
Outcomes
1. The service of deacons will relieve the elders, pastors and staff ministers of the practical work of the church so they may be free to serve, lead and minister in their biblically defined roles.
2. Appointing deacons will empower individual members to exercise their spiritual gifts in ways that are beneficial to the functioning and effectiveness of the entire church.
3. The service of deacons will cultivate and empower a broader base of servant leadership for Emmanuel Church.
The Biblical Standard for Deacons In I Timothy 3:8-13, the Apostle Paul outlines the character qualities of both men and women who serve in the role of deacon.
From the beginning of this process, the elders were committed to making sure that the office of deacons clearly served the church and would not become another bureaucracy. Because of this, deacons will only be appointed as needed or as men and women are obviously serving in this role.
This Sunday, March 7, we will be announcing and confirming our first group of deacons. They are
Don Ludwig – Prayer, Care and Counseling Ministries
Ed Romano – Food and Kitchen Ministry
Ricardo Carrillo – Spanish Speaking Ministry
During our Sunday worship service, our Elder Board Vice-Chairman, John Howard, will introduce each and give a broader description of their duties and responsibilities. Again, over time, other men and women will likely be appointed deacons as the ministry needs dictate. But for now, we are grateful for the willingness of this first group to serve.
I hope you will join me in giving thanks for these faithful men and praying with me for their continued fruitful service to Emmanuel and to the Lord.
See you Sunday in Worship,
Rick Durrance
Senior Pastor