Pathway has reached a point and expanded to a size that without taking the next step in restructuring the organization of church responsibilities, we will be limited in the amount we are able to grow both numerically and in unity. In our last business meeting we voted to move forward with the nomination of deacon candidates. Please take the quick survey below but before you do, go to the bottom of the page to read what is expected of a deacon at Pathway.
We are looking to ordain 4-5 deacons at this time. Enter 1 or more candidates in the survey below. If you are an individual who feels like God may be leading you serve in this role, please contact Jeremy at 479-445-3132 or jeremy@pathwaybaptist.com.
We are looking to ordain 4-5 deacons at this time. Enter 1 or more candidates in the survey below. If you are an individual who feels like God may be leading you serve in this role, please contact Jeremy at 479-445-3132 or jeremy@pathwaybaptist.com.
Qualifications & Purpose of Deacons
We can try to explain things but sometimes it is best just to let the scripture speak for itself. Acts 6 shows that deacons were first set aside to handle the needs of the people in order to free up the ministers to do their work. In 1 Timothy 3 we see the qualifications for deacons.
Acts 6: 1-6
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 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. 3 Brothers and sisters, 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 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
1 Timothy 3: 8-13
8 In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. 11 In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. 12 A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. 13 Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.
Responsibilities of Deacons at Pathway
As a church we have defined the role of deacon in a way which we feel both mirrors Biblical guidelines and meets the need of our congregation. Deacons will be assigned a certain number of families / individuals from the church for which they are the primary agent responsible for contact, follow-up, discipleship, and making sure any urgent needs are addressed. Each deacon is not expected to fulfill every task on their own; they are simply responsible for making sure this is taken care of for their “Deacon Family Group”.
While the responsibility is large, the individual workload doesn’t have to be. The four tasks each deacon should focus on for each member of their Deacon Family Group (DFG) are:
At many churches, we’ve lost the idea that the care of members needs to be done primarily by other members. This is why churches often have problems with connectivity and then suffer upon changes in staffing. With Deacon Family Groups, we hope to see a stable future laid for the future of Pathway. Here are the other areas of the church DFGs will help:
DFGs will be comprised of 25-40 people. Some of that number includes openings for new visitors / members to the church. This allows a small enough group for people to build relationships but large enough to provide multi-generational experience. They will be planned to not include too many from any small group to give another level of connectivity within Pathway. This number also allows each deacon and their helpers within the DFG a manageable number of people to care for and to contact.
Many people involved at Pathway have not yet or are not able to be involved with a small group. DFGs include everyone so each person attending Pathway has a group of people they can get to know and lean on when they need someone. This helps close a gap in our span of care not fully addressed by small groups.
Since many people in DFGs are involved in small groups, this will be a natural way for new people to get connected into a Bible study. DFGs are for fellowship, span of care, and 1-to-1 discipleship but provide a mechanism to build relationships which can also connect them to a small group.
New visitors to Pathway will automatically be assigned to a Deacon Family Group. Members of that group will be in charge with contact and follow up to aid church staff. This is an area which staff has received volunteers to help in the past but has not followed through on giving these volunteers what they need to help. With the implementation of DFGs, staff will begin a process of assigning new visitors to DFGs at the start of each week and passing the contact information along to the deacon and contact volunteers.
Hospital visits, physical needs, home / vehicle issues, and other tangible needs often arise in our congregation. Our staff is still available to help but we have grown to a point where our staff needs help carrying the load. Going forward the DFG will be the primary contact for individuals and they will notify and ask staff for help where needed. This will make sure everyone is cared for. Also, we know that people are reluctant to ask staff for help because of our workload, so maybe this will keep those in need from feeling like they don’t need to express their need. That’s what we’re here for. We also have a volunteer that is coordinating meals for those recovering from surgery / birth / etc… who deacons can utilize in fulfilling these needs. Again, the deacon is responsible but can share the workload with others in Pathway.
We hope this basic layout of responsibilities along with the expected benefits of DFGs allows everyone to see why we need to move forward with this approach. However the format & structure is up to the church to decide. This outline also gives potential deacons and those recommending someone as deacon an idea of the responsibility they will need to fulfill. Keep this in mind as we move forward. This role is something that needs to only be undertaken with prayer and the leading of God.
Selection & Ordination of Deacons
Deacons will be nominated from within the congregation of Pathway Baptist Church. Each nominee will be considered by a committee of staff & ordained members. Each nominee will be interviewed and a final list of recommendations will be brought back to the church. The church can then accept nominations, add nominees, or remove nominees. The decision to ordain someone as either a deacon or as a minister can only be made during a called business meeting of the church.
Each candidate must meet the expectations & requirements laid out in Acts 6 and 1 Timothy 3. Part of the interview process is to discuss these with the candidates in private with detail before any nominations come before the church to vote on. Whether the church decides to spell out any specific qualifications as an official policy will be discussed at our business meeting.
We are giving our congregation the next 3 weeks to give nominations. After this time we will begin the process of discussing and interviewing each nomination. We will then set a time for a church business meeting to discuss and vote on the ordination of deacons / ministers.
We can try to explain things but sometimes it is best just to let the scripture speak for itself. Acts 6 shows that deacons were first set aside to handle the needs of the people in order to free up the ministers to do their work. In 1 Timothy 3 we see the qualifications for deacons.
Acts 6: 1-6
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 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. 3 Brothers and sisters, 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 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
1 Timothy 3: 8-13
8 In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. 11 In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. 12 A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. 13 Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.
Responsibilities of Deacons at Pathway
As a church we have defined the role of deacon in a way which we feel both mirrors Biblical guidelines and meets the need of our congregation. Deacons will be assigned a certain number of families / individuals from the church for which they are the primary agent responsible for contact, follow-up, discipleship, and making sure any urgent needs are addressed. Each deacon is not expected to fulfill every task on their own; they are simply responsible for making sure this is taken care of for their “Deacon Family Group”.
While the responsibility is large, the individual workload doesn’t have to be. The four tasks each deacon should focus on for each member of their Deacon Family Group (DFG) are:
- PRAY FOR THEM DAILY: It is the deacons job to both pray for the group as a whole and to keep up with individual prayer needs within the group. These prayer needs and updates can be passed along to church staff and to others in the DFG to provide more prayer and support.
- LOOK FOR THEM WEEKLY: Each Sunday at worship, take notice of who is in attendance. Try to make contact with everyone in your DFG or enlist others to help share that load.
- CONTACT THEM MONTHLY: For those who haven’t been at worship or small groups, make sure someone from the DFG communicates with those not in attendance to let them know they were missed.
- MEET WITH THEM QUARTERLY: Host a Deacon Family Group activity every quarter. It needs to be a time of fellowship, whether it’s a meal at someone’s home or some type of activity. These multi-generational groups that span across small groups will help build unity within the church and give people the ability to form valuable relationships with people from a broad spectrum of life experience.
At many churches, we’ve lost the idea that the care of members needs to be done primarily by other members. This is why churches often have problems with connectivity and then suffer upon changes in staffing. With Deacon Family Groups, we hope to see a stable future laid for the future of Pathway. Here are the other areas of the church DFGs will help:
DFGs will be comprised of 25-40 people. Some of that number includes openings for new visitors / members to the church. This allows a small enough group for people to build relationships but large enough to provide multi-generational experience. They will be planned to not include too many from any small group to give another level of connectivity within Pathway. This number also allows each deacon and their helpers within the DFG a manageable number of people to care for and to contact.
Many people involved at Pathway have not yet or are not able to be involved with a small group. DFGs include everyone so each person attending Pathway has a group of people they can get to know and lean on when they need someone. This helps close a gap in our span of care not fully addressed by small groups.
Since many people in DFGs are involved in small groups, this will be a natural way for new people to get connected into a Bible study. DFGs are for fellowship, span of care, and 1-to-1 discipleship but provide a mechanism to build relationships which can also connect them to a small group.
New visitors to Pathway will automatically be assigned to a Deacon Family Group. Members of that group will be in charge with contact and follow up to aid church staff. This is an area which staff has received volunteers to help in the past but has not followed through on giving these volunteers what they need to help. With the implementation of DFGs, staff will begin a process of assigning new visitors to DFGs at the start of each week and passing the contact information along to the deacon and contact volunteers.
Hospital visits, physical needs, home / vehicle issues, and other tangible needs often arise in our congregation. Our staff is still available to help but we have grown to a point where our staff needs help carrying the load. Going forward the DFG will be the primary contact for individuals and they will notify and ask staff for help where needed. This will make sure everyone is cared for. Also, we know that people are reluctant to ask staff for help because of our workload, so maybe this will keep those in need from feeling like they don’t need to express their need. That’s what we’re here for. We also have a volunteer that is coordinating meals for those recovering from surgery / birth / etc… who deacons can utilize in fulfilling these needs. Again, the deacon is responsible but can share the workload with others in Pathway.
We hope this basic layout of responsibilities along with the expected benefits of DFGs allows everyone to see why we need to move forward with this approach. However the format & structure is up to the church to decide. This outline also gives potential deacons and those recommending someone as deacon an idea of the responsibility they will need to fulfill. Keep this in mind as we move forward. This role is something that needs to only be undertaken with prayer and the leading of God.
Selection & Ordination of Deacons
Deacons will be nominated from within the congregation of Pathway Baptist Church. Each nominee will be considered by a committee of staff & ordained members. Each nominee will be interviewed and a final list of recommendations will be brought back to the church. The church can then accept nominations, add nominees, or remove nominees. The decision to ordain someone as either a deacon or as a minister can only be made during a called business meeting of the church.
Each candidate must meet the expectations & requirements laid out in Acts 6 and 1 Timothy 3. Part of the interview process is to discuss these with the candidates in private with detail before any nominations come before the church to vote on. Whether the church decides to spell out any specific qualifications as an official policy will be discussed at our business meeting.
We are giving our congregation the next 3 weeks to give nominations. After this time we will begin the process of discussing and interviewing each nomination. We will then set a time for a church business meeting to discuss and vote on the ordination of deacons / ministers.