Deacon Policy and Procedures
First Baptist Church Taylor
Adopted By Deacon Membership
2014
Deacon Policy and Procedures Team
John Gilligan
Jerry Pearson
Dannie Volek
Alan Williams
Deacon Membership
As of April 2014
Dave Bogan
Joseph Branson
Mike Brueckner
Sonny Brueckner
Jimmy Cheatham
Shirl Frazier
John Gilligan
Keith Hagler
Jack Jordan
Keith Mays
Jerry Pearson
Keith Perrin
Mark Schroeder
Bob Turnipseede
Dannie Volek
Terrell Webster
Glenn Widmer
Alan Williams
Pastor
Matt Hudson
Deacon Policy and Procedures
First Baptist Church Taylor
Section One
What it Means to be a Deacon…………………………………………………………….4
Biblical Basis……………………………………………………………………………….4
Biblical Qualifications……………………………………………………………………..4
Expectations………………………………………………………………………………..5
Meetings…………………………………………………………………………………….5
Serving the Lord’s Supper………………………………………………………………...5
Serving in the Deacon Family Ministry Program………………………………………..5
Section Two
Deacon Body Officers………………………………………………………………………6
Duties and Responsibilities…………………………………………………………………6
Chairman……………………………………………………………………………………6
Vice-Chairman………………………………………………………………………………6
Secretary/Treasurer…………………………………………………………………………7
Deacon Officer Selection Process…………………………………………..………………7
Section Three
Deacon Selection Process……………………………………………………………………7
Selection process for candidates nominated by the church……………………………….7
Selection process for deacons who served at another church……………………………..8
Section Four
Discipline…………………………………………………………………………..…………8
Section Five
Inactive Status………………………………………………………………………………..9
Requesting inactive status………………………………...…………………………………9
Involuntary-inactive status………………………………………………………………….9
Returning from inactive status……………………………………………………………...9
Section Six
Procedure for changes and additions to the Deacon Policies and Procedures……..……10
Appendix A
Preparing and Serving the Lord’s Supper…………………………………………………11
Appendix B
Deacon Qualifications and Expectations……………………………………………………12
Appendix C
Deacon Officers interview with each candidate and his wife……………………………..13
Appendix D
Suggested format and questions to be used during the deacon body interview………….15
Deacon Policy and Procedures
First Baptist Church Taylor
Section One
What it Means to be a Deacon
Biblical Basis
Acts 6:1-6 NIV
“In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, 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 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmentas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.”
I Timothy 3:8-12 NIV
“Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in every thing. A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well.”
Biblical Qualifications
1. Spirit filled
2. Faith based life
3. Serious minded
4. Reliable and dependable
5. Honest and sincere
6. Not indulging in much wine
7. A good steward
8. Doctrinally sound
9. Husband of one wife (never divorced)
10. Wife should be worthy of respect, temperate and trustworthy (never divorced)
11. Manage his children and household well
12. Based on these Biblical qualifications, a deacon should strive to live a life that doesn’t cause a person to stumble
Expectations
1. Demonstrate growth toward a mature faith
2. Demonstrate a Christian family life
3. Demonstrate personal and public morality and a lifestyle accepted by God and the church
4. Be at least 25 years old, active in the ministries of First Baptist Church Taylor, and a member of First Baptist Church Taylor for at least one year
5. Have a Biblical view of financial stewardship evidenced by his regular practice of giving
6. Recognize the God-given leadership role incumbent on the pastor and seek to serve alongside that leadership
7. Be in agreement with the mission, vision, and core beliefs and values of First Baptist Church Taylor
8. Be faithful in all respects to church membership through regular attendance at major worship services and ministries
9. Help grow and encourage fellowship and spiritual growth within the church membership
10. Be willing to serve in the Deacon Family Ministry Program
11. Be a witness to the lost both verbally and through personal lifestyle
12. Attend and participate in deacon training opportunities and retreats
13. Be present at deacon meetings
Meetings
The deacon body will meet monthly for a regularly scheduled meeting.
Special called meetings will be called as necessary.
Serving the Lord’s Supper
See Appendix A for procedures for preparing and serving the Lord’s Supper.
Serving in the Deacon Family Ministry Program
1. The Deacon Family Ministry Program is an opportunity for the deacons to share the load of pastoral ministry for the church body through encouragement, hospital visits, and other pastoral needs.
2. Each deacon chooses the families who will be under his care.
3. Each deacon will receive a binder which includes demographic and contact information for each of his families.
4. The deacon should be available to the families as a general church contact as well as during times of crisis and celebration.
5. The deacon should maintain regular contact with the families in his care by visiting, calling, writing, and sending cards.
6. The deacon should respect a family’s desire for privacy if so desired.
Section Two
Deacon Body Officers
The deacon officers for First Baptist Church Taylor shall be: Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and Secretary/Treasurer.
Duties and Responsibilities
Chairman
1. Conduct church business meetings in the absence of the pastor or when the church is without a pastor. If without a pastor, he may attend staff meetings, if possible, to be better informed when conducting church business meetings.
2. Be prepared to conduct monthly deacon meetings. This includes meeting with the pastor to develop an agenda. The agenda should include old business, new business and things the pastor wants to bring before the deacons.
3. Help the pastor in serving the Lord’s Supper.
4. Prepare the Lord’s Supper elements before designated services. This includes purchasing grape juice and informing the church secretary when the supply of cups or bread is getting low. It also includes cleaning the serving utensils and storing them after the service.
5. The chairman, vice-chairman, and secretary/treasurer make up the committee which visits and questions prospective deacons when the church is going through the selection process.
6. Coordinate training for new deacons.
7. Work with the pastor and deacon body in setting up retreats and training.
8. Makes the initial contact regarding attendance issues and other discipline matters pertaining to deacons.
9. Coordinate a deacon Christmas party in December and an officer election party in June.
10. During the last month of his term, conduct a training session with new officers to review officer duties and responsibilities.
Vice-Chairman
1. Conduct all the responsibilities of the chairman in his absence.
2. Assist the chairman in preparation of the elements of the Lord’s Supper.
3. The vice-chairman will move into the chairman office the following year.
4. Works with the chairman in interviewing and questioning new deacon prospects.
5. Coordinate the Deacon Family Ministry and serve as liaison between the deacon body and the church secretary regarding the Deacon Family Ministry.
6. Serve as coordinator for providing Lord’s Supper for church members who are shut-ins and nursing home residents.
7. Serve as coordinator for at least one training event/retreat for the deacon body.
Secretary/Treasurer
1. Take minutes at all regular and called deacon meetings. These are to be written up and presented for approval at the next regular meeting and should include a list of all those present. Make copies to be available at the next meeting.
2. Assist the chairman in preparation of the elements of the Lord’s Supper.
3. The secretary/treasurer will move into the vice-chairman office the following year and will move into the chairman office in two years.
4. Works with the chairman in interviewing and questioning new deacon prospects
5. Maintain records of all funds including the flower fund for the death of a deacon and/or their immediate family members.
Deacon Officer Selection Process
1. On or before the May deacon meeting, the vice-chairman and secretary/treasurer will verify their intent to remain in office.
2. Officer qualifications: First Baptist Church Taylor deacon member for at least two years; able and willing to fulfill the office responsibilities.
3. New officer(s) will be nominated and elected by secret ballot during the June meeting. Nominations will be made during the meeting; the nominees will have opportunity to accept or decline before their name is placed on the ballot. If there are more than two nominated, one selected will receive a majority of the vote.
4. The new officers will take office in July (with the exception of extenuating circumstances).
5. In the event of a vacancy, the current officers will move up in office. The remaining office(s) will be newly elected.
Section Three
Deacon Selection Process
Selection process for candidates nominated by the church
1. Church office provides a list of all male members age 25 or older to be distributed to the membership. (Written passage of 1 Timothy 3: 8–12 provided on this list.)
2. Church membership is asked to indicate no more than 10 possible candidates who they believe meet the requirements to serve as a deacon.
3. Deacon officers rank order the list provided by the membership according to the number of nominations each received.
4. All deacons review and discuss the nominees using the list of qualifications and afterwards a list is made of potential candidates who meet the qualifications.
5. Deacon officers contact each potential candidate, in order of number of votes received, to see if he is interested in proceeding. (Number based on number of deacons needing to be ordained).
6. Those potential candidates who say they are interested receive information about qualifications, responsibilities, and expectations of a deacon who serves at First Baptist Church Taylor. (See Appendix B)
7. The potential candidates who indicate an interest in continuing in the process will be interviewed in person by the deacon officers. The interview will include the candidate’s wife. (See Appendix C)
8. Candidates who want to continue in the process meet individually with the deacon body for further questioning and examination. (See Appendix D)
9. The deacons vote to accept or reject each candidate with a quorum of 75% of the active deacon membership present and with a minimum of a three-fourths (75%) vote of approval required.
10. Candidates who have been accepted share their testimony during a regular church service.
11. After all testimonies have been completed a motion will be brought before the church body by the chairman of the deacons to vote on ordaining the candidates as deacons on a specified Sunday.
12. To be ordained as a deacon of First Baptist Church Taylor, a nominee will need to receive a three-fourths majority (75%) approval vote.
13. A Deacon Ordination Service will be held on a specified day.
Selection process for deacons who served at another church
1. An ordained deacon from another Baptist church may request a meeting with the chairman or he may be approached by one of the deacons to consider becoming involved as an active deacon.
2. The prospective deacon should have been an active member of First Baptist Church Taylor for a minimum of one year.
3. The church at which the deacon was ordained will be contacted by the chairman to verify the selection process and qualifications used to select their deacons and to verify his good standing.
4. The prospective deacon will be given a copy of the First Baptist Church Taylor Deacon Policies and Procedures for review and study.
5. If the prospective deacon agrees with the policies and procedures and believes he meets the qualification and is willing to serve as a deacon at FBC Taylor, the chairman will present the prospective deacon to the deacon body at a regular deacon meeting. He will present his testimony and the deacon body will have an opportunity to question him.
6. With a quorum of 75% of the active deacon membership present, a three-fourths (75%) majority approval vote of the deacon body will be required. After that he will be allowed to present his testimony to the church and then be voted on by the church for final approval with a three-fourths majority (75%) approval vote required.
Section Four
Discipline
When a deacon no longer fulfills his servant role qualification as set forth in Scripture, or when he is consistently absent from meetings, or fails to meet and discharge responsibilities to an acceptable level, the deacon body will discuss the concern and he will be contacted by the deacon officers to discuss rectifying any issues. The goal of this meeting is to enlighten the deacon officers to see if legitimate reasons exist for the deacon failing to meet his responsibilities and to seek to help the deacon return to full service.
If after a reasonable time frame (decided by the deacon officers) the deacon cannot or will not correct the problem, he will be given a letter of concern stating that if personal growth/improvement is not evident within a sixty day period, he will be asked in writing to submit his letter of resignation as deacon of First Baptist Church Taylor. If the deacon does not respond, he will be moved to involuntary-inactive status until the issues are addressed to the satisfaction of the deacon body.
In the event of a serious, egregious illegal or immoral act, the sixty day period for growth or improvement may be waived and a request may be made for immediate resignation.
Section Five
Inactive Status
Requesting inactive status
1. Any deacon can request to be placed on inactive status. By requesting inactive status the deacon will retain deacon status but will no longer actively participate in meetings and other designated deacon responsibilities.
2. There are several reasons for requesting inactive status:
A. Unable to carry on in the work of the deacons
B. Business which keeps him from serving in the work of the deacons
C. Changing family relationships
D. Transfer of membership
E. Lapse in interest in the work of the deacons, including moral and/or doctrinal lapse
Involuntary-inactive status
1. A deacon who is placed on involuntary-inactive status will retain his deacon status but will no longer be allowed to actively participate in deacon meetings nor will he be allowed to take part in other designated deacon responsibilities at First Baptist Church Taylor.
2. A deacon who has been disciplined according to the procedures outlined in the Discipline section may be placed on involuntary-inactive status.
Returning from inactive status
1. When an inactive deacon is ready to return to active status, he will request a meeting with the deacon officers to discuss his request.
2. The reason for the move to inactive status will determine what course of action will be required.