Deacon Handbook 2015 First Baptist Church Ponca City, Oklahoma DEACON HANDBOOK FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH PONCA CITY, OK Revised September 2015 TOPIC Constitution of the Deacon Council Organization Tenure Qualifications Duties Selection Process Mentoring Deacons Deacon Lord’s Supper Committee Deacon Baptism Committee Deacon Visitation Program Offering Collection Miscellaneous Items Election of Pastor Search Committee Motions Requiring Prior Notice Establishing Revival or Special Dates Voting Guidelines for Secret Ballots Project Timothy Scripture Offering Diagram CONSTITUTION OF THE DEACON COUNCIL I. ORGANIZATION 1. The name of this body shall be “The Deacon Council”. 2. The method for determining how many elected deacons are required to serve for the new church year shall be based on each elected deacon serving at least two widow/ widowers. As the number of widows and widowers changes throughout the year, deacons may be assigned up to 3 widows/widowers. 3. The Officers of the Deacon Council shall consist of Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Secretary. These shall be elected by The Deacon Council annually by secret ballot. The chairman shall be elected for one year only. a. In the August Council meeting, each deacon present may submit three nomina- tions for the positions for deacon officers. b. The nominations will include only men who are currently on the Council and will be continuing for the next year. c. The Pastor and Deacon Chairman will tally the nominations and obtain acceptance from the nominees to serve. Selection for Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Secretary to be made according to the number of nominations submitted, respectively. d. In the September Council meeting, the Council will elect the officers to serve for the coming year, effective October 1. 4. A majority of the Deacon Council shall compose a quorum. 5. Deacons who have been ordained in other Southern Baptist churches are not required to be ordained again, but their ordination will be confirmed with the ordaining church and their status in good standing will be confirmed with their previous church before serving on our Deacon council. II. TENURE 1. The term for serving on The Deacon Council shall be three (3) years. One-third of the Council shall be elected each year. No Deacon Council member may be elected to suc- ceed himself, but must remain off the Council for at least one year before he becomes eligi- ble for re-election. 2. It is the desire of the church that if a deacon has more than two (2) unexplained absences from the regular deacon’s meetings in one year, he shall voluntarily vacate the office by in- forming the chairman of The Deacon Council. Explanations for absences shall be given to the chairman or secretary preferably PRIOR to the time of the meeting. 3. DEACON EMERITUS: Deacons who have made a definite and worthy contribution to the spiritual life of the church over a period of years, and who, through advanced age, disabil- ity, or other extenuating circumstances cannot regularly serve on The Deacon Council, may be elected to the lifetime honorary position of Deacon Emeritus by the church. Candidates for this position will be nominated by The Deacon Council. This position has attendance privileges but not voting privileges. a. Candidates for this position may be recommended to the Deacon Officers by any church member who wishes to serve as an advocate for the candidate. Advocates will submit nominations in a written form describing the ‘definite and worthy’ contribution of the candidate. b. Upon receiving a written nomination, the Deacon Officers will form a Deacon Emeritus Council consisting of the Pastor, current Deacon Officers, past Deacon Chairmen, and Deacon Emeriti. This Emeritus Council will review the nomination and may recommend the nomination to the Deacon Council. If approved, the Deacon Council will recom- mend the nomination to the church, which will vote on the candidate for the position of Deacon Emeritus. The advocate may present the written nomination to the church. c. Emeriti and their family will be honored by the church at a special recognition service as soon as feasible after election. III. QUALIFICATIONS 1. The Deacon Council members shall qualify on the basis of the Scriptures as recorded in Acts 6:1-8; 1 Timothy 3:1-6 and Titus 1:5-16. (Scripture located on pages 14-15 of the Deacon Handbook) a. In addition to the scriptural qualifications the desire of the church is that, as of the date of election, Deacon Council members shall be a minimum of 21 years of age and have been a member of this church for the previous consecutive 12 months. 2. The Deacon Council members shall support First Baptist Church, Ponca City through re- quired attendances, participation in church ministries and tithing. 3. The Deacon Council members shall be in agreement with The Baptist Faith and Message (adopted SBC 1963). 4. The Deacon Council members are expected to participate in the Project Timothy program. 5. Deacons who have been ordained in other Southern Baptist churches are not required to be ordained again, but their ordination will be confirmed with the ordaining church and their sta- tus in good standing will be confirmed with their previous church before serving on our Dea- con Council. IV. Duties The deacon shall assist the pastor in the spiritual ministry of the church. This will include the fol- lowing duties: 1. Serving the ordinances at the direction of the pastor and the church. 2. Faithfulness to scriptural principles and in every way, by precept and example, actively en- gage in the total program of the church. V. DEACON SELECTION PROCESS 1. Church members will be asked to submit names of men during a four week nomination period who they believe to be qualified to serve as deacons. Index cards will be made available to write in the nominee’s name(s). Members will then sign the card and place it in a locked ballot box located in the foyer during the nomination period. Any unsigned nomination card will not be considered. 2. An Ad Hoc Committee consisting of the pastor, current deacon officers and two mem- bers nominated by the deacon officers will perform the following tasks: a. Determine profile of the next group of deacons relative to experience, age, broad representation, ordained or not. b. Determine number of deacons required to fulfill next year’s deacon ministry. c. Compile list of men to solicit in order to achieve desired profile and number as agreed above. i. Select names based on the known character of each nominee relative to the qualifications outlined in the Deacon Handbook. Selection is made from the list of nominees. ii. A unanimous vote is required for a name to be on the list. Justification for deci- sions will not be expressed. 3. The Ad Hoc Committee will then solicit interest from nominees. a. Personally contact nominees who are ordained deacons to ask them if they still qualify and if they are willing to serve. b. Mail letter to non-ordained nominees setting forth the qualifications and expectations of a deacon. The letter will ask the nominee if he meets these qualifications and is willing to be considered to serve as a deacon. A deadline will be set for nominees to respond either by return mail, calling the church office or contacting the Deacon Chairman. c. If a nominee declines or does not respond, then another name will be added to the list. This process continues until the agreed number of men willing to be considered is reached. 4. Pastor and Ad Hoc Committee will interview non-ordained men willing to be consid- ered. They will review and discuss the qualifications and expectations to ensure that each nominee understands them. 5. Ad Hoc Committee will vote on the list of nominees to be presented to the full congre- gation for approval. Ad Hoc Committee’s vote must be unanimous. 6. Deacons will convene an Ordination Council to allow deacons to meet, question and vote on non-ordained nominees. 7. Church will vote on nominees at a Special Business Meeting in September. 8. Deacons will convene a Deacon Ordination Service for non-ordained nominees. 9. Nominees will begin serving October 1. MENTORING DEACONS In order to help newly ordained men transition into their role as deacons of First Baptist Church, a deacon presently serving on the Deacon Council will be assigned to mentor each newly ordained deacon. During the September Deacon’s Meeting, the Deacon Council Chairman will ask for volun- teers to serve as Mentoring Deacons. A Mentoring Deacon will be assigned to each newly or- dained deacon prior to the October Deacon’s Meeting. The responsibilities of the Mentoring Deacon include the following: 1. Pray for and encourage the newly ordained deacon and his family. 2. Be available to answer questions regarding responsibilities associated with serving as a deacon (e.g., Lord’s Supper, Offering collection). 3. Accompany the newly ordained deacon the first time he participates in Sunday Hospital Visita- tion. 4. Arrange to go with the newly ordained deacon the first time he makes New Member and Project Timothy visits. 5. Be open to other opportunities the Lord may present to serve the newly ordained deacon and his family. DEACON LORD’S SUPPER COMMITTEE The Lord’s Supper Committee shall upon notice by the pastor of the date and time when the Lord’s Supper shall be observed, be responsible for organizing the men to serve, and preparing the elements of the Lord’s Supper. The committee shall be comprised of a chairman and five (5) members. Each October the Chairman of The Deacon Council shall appoint six (6) deacons who are willing to serve in this ca- pacity for a one year term.