DEACON’S ASSIGNMENT IN THE CHURCH FAMILY MINISTRY

DEACON’S ASSIGNMENT IN THE CHURCH FAMILY MINISTRY

(BY REVD KOLADE OLADELE OF ABRAHAM'S TABERNACLE - BAPTIST INTERNATIONAL WORSHIP CENTER)

The focus of this year’s workers’ retreat is strategic and timely. Any church growth agenda that fail to recognize the place of family in the pursuit of spiritual formation and church’s overall development cannot stand the test of time. This is so because the home is the miniature of the church, and the providing ground for leadership in the church. For our churches to experience radical emancipation and all-round growth, the family ministry must be our special priority.

In our quest to formulate a strong vision and mission agenda for our churches, the ministry role of the deaconate is given special attention, given the nature of what originally orchestrated the creation of this great ecclesiastical office in the early church. In Acts chapter six where the selection and commissioning of the first set of deacons is mentioned, the office was created to meet a need and proffer solution to a problem that was almost tearing the main communal relational fibre apart. If the creation of diaconate at the first instance is attached with taking care of the well-being of the first community of faith, then the role of deaconate in our contemporary time on family ministry cannot be overemphasized.

DIACONATE RESUME

Before we narrow this subject to the issue of family ministry, let’s briefly examine the general resume of a biblical deacon as stated in the scriptures:

1.      Good reputation – Acts 6:3

2.      Full of Holy Spirit – Acts 6:3

3.      Full of Godly wisdom – Acts 6: 3; 1 Tim 3:3:17-18

4.      Full of faith – Acts 6:5

5.      Respectable – 1 Tim 3:8

6.      Straight forward and not double tongued – 1 Tim 3:8

7.      Not addicted to drinking – 1 Tim 3:8

8.      Not greedy – 1 Tim 3:8

9.      Clear conscience – 1 Tim 3:9

10.  Tested and Trusted – 1 Tim 3:10

11.  Blameless and without reproach – 1 Tim 3:10

12.  Monogamous – 1 Tim 3:12

13.  One who manages his home well – 1 Tim 3:12

DIACONATE ASSIGNMENT IN THE CHURCH FAMILY MINISTRY is therefore to be understood to be dual in nature. Diaconates have the responsibility of first being a model of strong and biblically sound family ministry through his own family and secondly by working with the pastorate to help- the various families in the local church develop a matured Christian family setting that Christ can be proud of. The paradigm on which the role of deacons in family ministry is built is best captured in the apostolic instruction of Paul to Timothy in 1Tim 3:12 “let the deacons be the husbands of one wife ruling their children and houses well.”

There are five major cardinal areas that a solid and theologically balanced family ministry of the church should be built on. For any deacon who wants to have great and sound personal family ministry and who also want to help build same for his/her church members, the following foundational elements must be given special attention:

1. Devotion

Family ministry that will be strong and lasting must first focus on building strong spiritual formation agenda through family altar and devotion. The deacons are to show example by being “priests” in their homes, emulating the great examples of great patriarchs and Matriarchs:

Ø  Abraham – Gen 18:17-19

Ø  Isaac – Gen 27:26-27

Ø  Jacob – Gen 35:2

Ø  Hannah – 1 Sam 1:22

Ø  Manoah – Judges 13:8

Ø  Job – Job 1:5

Ø  David – 1 Kg 2:1-4; 1 Chronicles 29:19

Ø  Eunice – 2 Tim 1:5

These people followed the injunction in Deut. 4:9-10; 6:7

2. Affection

God’s desire is that our homes should be a place of expression of love demonstrated to promote the well being of one another. Christian home should be one where love is infectious. It is generally observed that crisis ridden churches are usually churches with dysfunctional families Eph 5:22-25; 1 Pet. 3:1-7

3. Attention

We must be very careful not to get carried away by the burden of our ministries that we forget to give attention to our families which is actually our first ministry constituency (our First Baptist Church). We must make ourselves available to our spouses and children. Most of the problems we have today rocking Christian homes is lack of attention and our inability to spend quality time together as family not only for devotion but even for koinonia and fun.

4. Correction

The concept of discipline is fast becoming unpopular. If we shall have sound family ministry in our churches, we must retrace our steps back and re-imbibe the concept of discipline and correction as taught in the scriptures. The pattern to follow is clearly stated in 1 Tim 3:4-5 “one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; for if a man know not how to take care of the house, how shall he take care of the church of God?” We must avoid Eli syndrome – 1 Sam 3:13 which later was repeated in Samuel – 1 Sam 8:3. The result of withholding discipline is shame – Proverbs 29:15; 23:13.

The concept of correction should be understood within the context of strategic-balancing for we must also not provoke our children to wrath – Eph 6:4; Col 3:21. We must not over pamper them and at the same time deal with them with the understanding of the generational gap and contemporary changes. This notwithstanding, we must define the confine our children can go and never allow the standard of the scriptures to be lowered.

5. Provision

Part of the parental responsibilities especially for the father is to provide for the family. No amount of spiritual influence we may exert can replace the responsibility to provide for our own family. Paul better capture this in 1 Tim 5:18 “But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel.” Again in 2 Cor. 12:14b Paul says “…for the children ought not to lay up for parents, but the parents for the children.”

CONCLUSION

There is the need for a synergic move between the pastorate and the diaconate to help work on the family ministry of our local churches so that we can have strong churches in our conference. Our readiness to follow the aforementioned strategic keys, am sure will help our conference have a strong family ministry that can further translate to strong and  more effective churches.

(BY REVD KOLADE OLADELE OF ABRAHAM'S TABERNACLE - BAPTIST INTERNATIONAL WORSHIP CENTER)