Deacon's Ministry

Job Description

By the grace of God, deacons, as volunteer church officers, glorify the Lord and serve His church by modeling the application of the gospel of Jesus Christ into the daily activities of life as husbands, fathers, and brothers in Christ. They perform various tasks and participate in ministries designed to care for and unify the people of God and also care for the facilities of the church for the purpose of freeing the pastoral staff to focus on prayer, the ministry of the Word of God, and the spreading of the gospel (Acts 6:1-6; Phil 1:1; 1 Tim 3:8-13). They are committed to the Great Commandment (Mark 12:28-31) and the Great Commission (Matt 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-15).

Typically, the deacons meet monthly/semi-monthly with one of the pastors to review various ministries of the church.

The deacons of Berean must meet all the biblical qualifications as outlined in 1 Timothy 3:8-13 and subscribe to the church covenant and to each of the Articles of Faith. (BBC requires that deacons be males who have never been divorced or remarried unless the wife is deceased.) Berean uses a questionnaire to begin the interview and application process (see below) to become a deacon; church members are encouraged to review the questionnaire to gain a better understanding of the expectations of a deacon at Berean.

Duties and Responsibilities

Pray for the pastoral staff, the sick and unconverted daily.
Actively promote and support the church and its ministries.
Consistently attend and participate in a Sunday school class.
Assist in preparing and serving the Lord’s Supper.
Serve as an usher when needed.
Attend monthly deacon prayer meetings, unless out of town or ill, on the 2nd Sunday of each month at 5pm.
Share the gospel with friends, workers, neighbors and others.
Assist in locking up the building after services on a rotational basis.
Assist in visiting shut-ins or members in the hospital as needed.
Attend deacon meetings and beneficial training unless providentially hindered.
Actively participate in the men’s ministry.
Assist in church discipline cases as outlined in the church constitution as needed.
Willingly and joyfully give no less than 10% of your gross combined household income to the church in a verifiable way.
Provide feedback and advice to the pastor on projects, staffing, direction and the vision of the church and all its ministries.
Go out of your way to assist in greeting and welcoming guests and visitors to the church.
Oversee the distribution of the benevolence fund and execute the distribution of food baskets to church members during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

How Deacons Are Chosen

The purpose of the following paragraphs is to explain the mechanics of how men come to serve as deacons at Berean Baptist Church. (Many churches do it differently.) Once or twice a year a request is made to the congregation to nominate men to serve as deacons. Candidates must be men who have already shown they have a servant’s heart and meet the biblical qualifications of a deacon (1 Tim 3:8-13). These names are submitted on a note during the offering or turned in to one of the current deacons. The names are collected by the deacons and the pastors review the list. In those cases where a candidate has previously communicated a disqualifier to a pastor, he is not sent an invitation. All other candidates are mailed an invitation to download a deacon questionnaire from this webpage and return it by a specific date.

Once the candidate returns his questionnaire to a pastor or deacon, it is first reviewed by the pastors and then the deacon board. If the deacons and pastors are supportive of the recommendations from the congregation, the candidate’s names are presented for a vote on a secret ballot. (If there is an issue with a candidate the pastors and deacons will collectively discuss the issue and come to an agreement on the best course of action on a case by case basis.) Normally, the church will be notified who is being presented for a vote about two weeks before the member’s meeting when the vote will take place. Members may vote up or down on as many or few candidates as they choose. After the church votes, the deacons collect the ballots and tally the results. Candidates must receive an affirmative vote from the majority of the ballots that are turned in from the members at the member’s meeting (i.e. if 100 ballots are collected by the deacons a candidate must receive 51 yes votes to be approved). The chairman of the deacons will oversee the tallying of the results. The church clerk is responsible for ensuring the results of the vote are recorded in the minutes for the member’s meeting. The chairman of deacons or church clerk will notify the church of the results of the vote by percentage at the member’s meeting.

A deacon’s term of service is three years. After a year of Sabbath, former deacons may be nominated again for a subsequent 3 year term of service. The BBC Constitution does not limit the number of men who can serve as deacons. Every effort is made to allow an opportunity to all who have a desire to serve and meet the qualifications to serve the body of Christ. Candidates who have not been ordained as a deacon by the church will be ordained on a subsequent Sunday night service. The board of deacons nominates and approves its own leaders annually.

Interested In Becoming A Deacon?

New Deacon Questionnaire

Deacon Reappointment Questionnaire

Our Current Deacons:

Bro. Sam Beach - Chairman - Co-teaches an adult Sunday School class and serves as an usher.

Bro. Mike Christenson - Serves in the adult choir.

Bro. Mike Germany - Serves in the youth group and in the orchestra.

Bro. Nick Gore - Serves as our Awana Commander and assists Pastor Sean in First Class.

Bro. Adam Green - Serves in the Single Adult Ministry.

Bro. Darren Hawk - Teaches the College & Career Sunday school class, serves in Awana and the adult choir.

Bro. Mike Joiner - Serves in the adult choir.

Bro. Tim Kerr

Bro. Jim Osuna

Bro. Jim Schnepp - Serves in the orchestra.

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