Category: Deacons
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How Every Ministry in the Church is to Fulfill the Great Commission
A small group of senior adults met early at the church on Sunday mornings to pray for the classes and worship services that would follow. Theirs was a ministry of prayer for the pastors, deacons, Sunday School teachers, and workers who would soon be filling the church hallways and walkways. One week they invited me…
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How to Support Your Pastor and Your Staff in the Ministry You Lead
“How can I help you, Pastor?” The man served in our church as a ministry leader. He ran a large business with several employees. He was a busy man, and yet he wanted to know how he could help me! I invited him to pray for me. Immediately he stood up, walked next to where…
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How Every Ministry in the Church Can Be a Gospel Sharing Ministry
She had never lived in the United States before moving to our town to teach at the high school. She was unfamiliar with our culture. She knew no one. But when someone told her about our church, she was immediately interested in the choir because of her love for singing. Choir members befriended her. They…
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What to Do When Someone Has a Meltdown
One evening during the summer of 2012, I was making a nine-hour drive home after a difficult visit with my father. Lying unconscious for days in a hospital room, he was not expected to live. No one knew when death would come, and I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to go. Two hours after…
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Protecting Your Church from Predators
Following months of false rumors and verbal attacks, the deacons and their pastor had arranged to meet with the man whose actions and words were deeply dividing their church. The ensuing discussion was frustrating to everyone involved. After several attempts to uncover and address the man’s core complaints, the pastor finally asked, “What would it…
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Deacons, Revival, and Spiritual Awakening
At 9 p.m. on a Saturday evening, a pastor and a small group of deacons met to ask God for a revival in their church. Their church was struggling. Church members felt spiritually dry and weak. Few people were coming to faith in Christ. Month after month that small group of deacons sought God together…
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7 Ways to Protect Your Pastor
As you read this, there is a pastor near you who is “on call” every day of the week. He pours his heart into his sermon preparation, but no one seems to notice. He visits the sick, but someone is telling him he doesn’t visit enough. Someone else is asking him what he does with…