Deacon Ministry

History

The deacon ministry was born out of the need to solve a serious problem. Jewish believers had a well-developed care ministry patterned after the ministries that they observed in the Jewish synagogues. However, the Gentile believers had no such ministries; there was a gap of care. The easy solution was to shift this responsibility to the apostles and teachers of the church, but this would have compromised their effectiveness. Acts 6 details the solution:

2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

Unlike the office of Elders, the deacon ministry included women as well. Paul describes a woman named Phoebe in Romans 16:1-2

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant (deacon) of the church at Cenchreae, 2 that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

Deacons and Deaconesses at Geneseo E-Free

Currently, our Deacon Ministry consists of two deacons and two deaconesses. They share the responsibility for serving our church in two key areas: Care and Compassion.

The Care Ministry

Our deacon ministry oversees our care ministry which includes:

• Providing meals for families at times of grief or crisis.
• Arranging for funeral meals after services.
• Shut-in Ministry and Visitation
• Benevolence Team which handles needs internal to our congregation.

The Compassion Ministry

Our compassion ministry is our outstretched arm to our community and includes:

• Financial needs of those external to our congregation.
• Partnering with ministry partners from the following ministries that service our community.

Local Missions Supported

• Fellowship Of Christian Athletes
• Freedom Ministries
• Pregnancy Resources
• Royal Family Kids Camp
• Safe Families
• Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child
• Trail Life
• The Farm: A Geneseo-based discipling ministry to women.