Approved June 2014
CATEGORIES OF DEACONS
EMERITUS
This group of ordained men is made up of members of FBC St. Francisville, who have been ordained as deacon. A man may gain entrance to this group by any of the following reasons.
- Health and/or age will not permit him to serve his church.
- Circumstance. Sometimes a man or his family may have something that he or the church feels would prevent him from serving effectively. He may move to the emeritus group knowing that he can always move back to the active group in the future.
- A new member from another church may not serve until after he has been a member for at least one year. If a man joins this church who is already an ordained deacon, he can move immediately to EMERITUS status and be recognized as an ordained deacon.
- Other reasons might arise, and we wish it known that all men who fill the ranks of our Emeritus Deacon group have their ordination recognized and are automatically invited to all fellowships, training sessions and other special events afforded our deacons.
ACTIVE
This group of ordained men is made up of members of FBC St. Francisville, who have been ordained or inducted as a deacon at FBC St. Francisville and who are available and willing to serve in the deacon ministry of FBC St. Francisville.
DEACON COUNCIL
SIZE
The size of the Deacon Council may vary from time to time dependent upon the needs of the church and availability of qualified deacons.
COMPOSITION
The Deacon Council is composed of active deacons who serve on a rotating basis. The Deacon Council is composed of three rotation teams, which are defined below.
ROTATION TERM AND SCHEDULE
The Deacon Council rotation schedule is based on the following guidelines.
- Active deacons will serve on a rotating basis, serving for three-years per term on the Deacon Council.
- In order to maintain a three-year rotation schedule, the Deacon Council will maintain a minimum of four rotation teams.
- Newly ordained or inducted deacons will be added to the appropriate rotation team in order to best meet the needs of the rotation schedule. Deacons added to fill a vacancy or added based on need during an existing year are added to the newest team on the rotation schedule.
- The rotation teams may vary some in size, understanding that differences in the size of teams may cause the Deacon Council to vary slightly in number from year to year.
- New teams may be added as deemed necessary by the Deacon Council. The addition of new teams will not change the three-year active rotation, but would change the number of years between rotations. For example, while there is one-year between rotations with a four team rotation schedule, there would be two-years between rotations with a five team rotation schedule.
- After a deacon has served a three-year term he is not eligible to serve another term until a year has passed. This would NOT apply if someone were asked to fill a vacancy. He would be “reassigned” a position in the rotation so as to not have two full three-year terms in a row.
- Should an unfulfilled term of service arise the deacon council can appoint a deacon to fill this unexpired term. If the term is one year or less, that deacon will be eligible to serve a full three-year term without the customary one year absence from the active group.
OFFICERS OF THE DEACON COUNCIL
Annually, at the beginning of each church year, the deacon group will elect a chairman of the deacons, a vice-chairman and a secretary/treasurer. The chairman may succeed himself only one time for a total of two (2) years.
REMOVAL OF A DEACON. Removal of a deacon will be by recommendation of the active council to the church in business session. The church would have to act to make the removal effective. Under these circumstances the church could ask that the man’s ordination papers be returned to the church, if this church were the ordaining body.
SELECTION OF NEW DEACONS
New deacons may be selected from the church body on an annual basis near the beginning of the new church year. Potential deacon candidates may be nominated by the pastor, the church staff, deacons, and/or members of the church. Nominees may include new church members that previously served as deacons at another Southern Baptist Church whose beliefs are consistent with those of this church. Members of this church who meet the “Qualifications for Deacons” described in the By-Laws are also eligible for nomination.
All deacon nominations will be considered by the pastor, applicable church staff, and current members of the deacon council. The number of nominees selected for ordination or induction into the deacon body (re-ordination will not be required for members previously ordained in another Southern Baptist Church) will be based on each nominee’s qualifications and the needs of the church at that time.
Selected nominees will be contacted by the pastor, applicable church staff, and/or current members of the deacon council to determine if the nominees are willing and able to serve as deacons. In the event that one or more selected nominees are unwilling or unable to serve, additional nominees may be selected and contacted.
A list of qualified nominees who are willing and able to serve as deacons will be compiled by the pastor, applicable church staff, and current members of the deacon council. The list of qualified nominees will be presented to the church body during a regularly scheduled business meeting. Upon approval by the church body, selected nominees will be added to the deacon council through ordination or induction, as applicable.
ORDINATION
When men are approved to serve as deacons, if ordination is necessary, they will meet with the deacons and work out a time for the ordination soon after their election. (The ordination process would be so scheduled as to leave adequate time for “questioning and examining” of the candidate long before the ordination is scheduled.) It will be a time when family and friends have opportunity to attend and will be planned and carried out by the pastor, staff and deacon council.