The New Testament Church has Deacons who were mostlly leaders responsible for helping in the local gathering of believers. These leaders were supposed to be full of the Holy Spirit and committed to the work of God.
The ministry of Elders/ Bishops in the New Testament church was Pastoral and would be performed by those chosen to oversee large sections of believers in towns or cities hence Apostles like Peter would view themselves as elders/bishops too whilst others were pastoral ministers who would be chosen to be overseers in their towns or local assemblies.
In some of today's churches, the model has been changed as the word "Elder" is now used mostly to mean assistant Pastor or senior Deacon for those who are not appointed in those churches to the five-fold ministry such as Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher. In my view the role of these Elders is to provide leadership to other deacons in a set up where such elders are senior deacons.
The following are guidelines for Deacons who serve in the church assemblies, the principles also apply to today's Elders who are not Pastors as noted earlier:-
1. Assisting and seeing that there is order in the church- seating arrangement, noise control, and overseeing that ushers are executing some of these duties properly
2. Ensuring safety and security of the place of worship- keeping check of intruders, thieves, and making sure belongings are safe
3. Making sure that there are facilities as water, toiletries, and PA system is in order for the services to run smoothly.
4. Making sure the members get access to church materials and supplies such as fliers, books, magazines, calendars, food, and assisting in distributing these materials and others
5. Assisting during baptisms, children dedication, funerals, and also during Holy Communion services
6. Following up with Finance Committee to make sure all bill payments are made and on time
7. Providing overall leadership to the ushering committee, grounds maintenance committee and ensuring that the décor team has everything in place for the meetings
8. Arrange for church venues, meetings, including evangelism & Revival meetings as well as conference planning
9. Assisting the church ministers in general, praying for them and giving them progress reports.
10. Assisting in members’ follow ups, visiting the sick, and general care of the needy and old aged in terms of ensuring they receive help from the church
11. Providing essential information to the church members to do with church meetings, service times, and informing any new members about events and programmes in the church
Compiled By Apostle Howard Tundu
