Question i (2) - Faithful Deacon

Will you direct the people’s help to the friendless and those in need?

As further evidence of the primary role deacons can play in a congregation, it should be noted that in recent revisions of the Book of Order the definition of the deacon moved from third to first place in the chapter on Ordered Ministry. This new placement, preceding the elder and the pastor, suggests that charitable concern and wise help should not be merely a tertiary focus or an afterthought once the needs of the church itself have been satisfied. Rather, the ministry of the deacons is in fact the leading edge of a congregation that is paying attention to persons, its neighborhood, and its community.

In one Presbyterian congregation in a declining industrial community with lots of challenges, the deacons of the church assigned one of their members to attend every meeting of the city council and the school board. The purpose of the visits was to listen deeply, to pray generously, and to report back to the deacons the hopes, needs, and hurts of the larger community. This is one excellent example of the many ways deacons can be trained to function as matchmakers for the congregation. On the one hand, deacons learn to pay attention to the actual needs of the community, articulating them carefully and wisely to the congregation, and then “matching” those needs with the treasure, time, and talents of church members. On the other hand, the flow of this work can also move in the other direction. Deacons in ministry will come to see in what ways the gifts and blessings of the larger community, including those who are in need, are being sent by God into the life of the congregation learning about the giving and receiving of true charity. As with all aspects of ministry, deacons should be coached at the start to practice patience, openness, and wisdom as these dynamics are discerned and developed.