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What the Deacons Do

The Greek work diakonos (translated, deacon) means servant. Acts 6:1-7 is often seen as the prototype of the office of deacon. For more from a biblical perspective, please see the "Life of Service" study document.

Deacons are charged with assisting the elders in the administration of the church. All major actions of the deacons are subject to the approval of the elders.

Deacons care for all matters pertaining to the physical properties and finances of the church. This includes:

maintenance and protection of the church buildings and supervision for their use
formulation and presentation of the annual operating budget
supervising of Sunday morning activities including opening and closing the building, providing support for worship (communion, ushering, audio and visual support)
formulation of operating policies and guidelines for facilities, finances and personnel

In addition, the deacons address specific physical needs of those in our church community through the Handyman Ministry as well as special projects (such as the "chainsaw gang' after a hard-hitting hurricane).

All deacons serve as "Sunday service supervisors" once approximately every 8 weeks; two deacons share this responsibility each Sunday. Deacons also supervise each of the special services that occur during the year (such as Christmas Eve and Maundy Thursday).

The church hosts four workdays each year, providing an opportunity for all in the congregation to assist with major projects (such as landscaping or painting). Each deacon serves for at least two of these four workdays.

There is a church leadership retreat held in early in the year that all deacons are encouraged to attend. There is a deacon-elder dinner once each quarter, to facilitate communication between the elders and deacons.

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Page last modified Thursday 23 September, 2004 22:06 .