Church Search Engine

Church Website Links

Subscribe to news feeds

Follow us on Twitter

  Question? Chat with us

Share

• Email
• Facebook
• digg
• del.icio.us
• Yahoo!
• Newsvine

Share by Email

Email addresses will be used to only email the page on your behalf and will not be collected.

Your name:

*

Your email:

*

Recipient's email:

*

Separate multiple email addresses with commas or semicolons.

Personal message:

Please send me a copy

Unable to load the reCAPTCHA image. The public key (6LcaEgQAAAAAAByWCvZEb2I8OXbdCtykIBs0swIO) might be invalid for this domain.

reCAPTCHA^TM

Type the two words: Type the eight numbers:

*

Get a new challenge  |  Get an audio challenge Get a visual challenge

What's a Deacon to Do?

Six Areas of Diaconal Concern

Are deacons called to do more than pass the plate and count money on Sunday morning?

To answer that question, Reformed Church deacons gather at First Church in Albany, New York--where deacons began their work on this continent 350 years ago.

They begin by looking at historical records and the Book of Church Order, which tell of deacons serving in ministries of mercy, service, and outreach. Next they review six areas of diaconal concern that help focus ministry for today's deacons:

• Special Individual and Family Concerns
• Stewardship Education and Congregational Giving
• Mission Involvement
• Volunteer Service
• Reformed Church World Service and Hunger Advocacy
• Caring for Creation and Simple Living

The deacons go on to tell what they do in ministry throughout North America and the world in these areas of concern. Their stories tell how, as servant leaders, deacons are called to many exciting and rewarding tasks.

Suggestions for using this video:

Consider using this video as a tool for evaluating and setting new goals for your congregation's diaconal ministry.

After viewing the video and reading Acts 6, ask the following questions of yourself, your deacons, your consistory, and your congregation:

1. How can your deacons lead the members of your congregation to discover individual and family needs in your church and community? In what ways can your deacons help people respond to and meet these needs?

2. Deacons are called to remind the church that it exists to serve--to get people out of the pews and linked to the needs of neighbors and people around the world. How can deacons help the people in your church become faithful stewards of the resources God has given them?

3. Deacons help make local and global mission a priority in their congregations. How could your congregation use the following ideas to expand your commitment to mission?

• Providing a Moment for Mission during worship services.
• Inviting mission speakers and using mission resource packets to tell what God is doing in the global church.
• Encouraging people to take part in a cross-cultural learning experience, like the 1999 deacon exchange with Chiapas.
• Supporting RCA mission programs by taking a Partnership-in Mission share.

4. Do your deacons help connect people with opportunities to use their gifts through volunteer service? How? How could it be done more intentionally?

5. Deacons are the vital link between congregations and Reformed Church World Service's response to disasters. How do your deacons help your members open their hearts, hands, and minds to respond? How do they help people learn the root causes of hunger and how to take action?

6. How can your deacons help the congregation find ways to live in a way that respects creation and satisfies the desire many people have to live more simply?