FIRST SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARADISE VALLEY
DEACON’S MINISTRY
The FSBCPV has always had a Deacon’s Ministry in accordance with Article 3 Section 1(4) of its Constitution and Bylaws which states as follows
“In accordance with the meaning of the work and the practice in the New Testament, deacons are to be servants of the Church. Their task is to serve with the pastor and staff in performing the pastoral ministries tasks of:
(1) leading the Church in the achievement of its mission,
(2) proclaiming the gospel to believers and unbelievers, and
(3) caring for the Church’s members and other persons in the community.
The Pastor and deacons are responsible for determining when additional deacons are needed and informing the Church. A study of the deacon’s qualifications, as well as election procedure, will then be presented to the Church body as soon as possible.
The deacon body, along with the pastor, shall seek men scripturally, morally and spiritually, qualified men for the deacon ministry, based upon Acts 6:1-6 and 1 Timothy 3:8-13.
All candidates must be members of the Church for at least six months before being elected. When the pastor and deacon body have agreed upon a candidate(s), his name(s) shall be listed in the Church bulletin the Sunday preceding the regular business meeting, and shall be placed in nomination and voted upon at said business meeting. Voting shall be by secret ballot, with a two-thirds affirmative vote by those present and voting required for election.
All persons elected will attend a deacon orientation training program prior to ordination. If the elected person has already been ordained in a church of like faith and order, no ordination will be necessary.
When the number of deacons is deemed sufficient, a deacon rotation system can be put into effect, with the approval of the pastor and deacon body. The specifics of the rotation system are to be determined by the pastor and deacon body”
Many respectable and faithful members of the Church have served as Deacons. Currently there are two Deacons: Dr. Emmanuel Ojameruaye and Mr. Charley Baker. Each family/member of the Church is assigned to one of the Deacons as part of the Deacon’s Care Group. Each Deacon is required to assist the Pastor in providing spiritual support to members assigned to his “Care Group”, including visiting/calling members of his group from time to time to check on how they are doing, hospital visitation, witnessing, rejoicing/grieving with them, and /praying/supporting them as the case may be and as required.
