Anson Johnson

Board of Deacons Chair

What is the role of the Board of Deacons you ask? The genesis of the role of deacon is quite interesting. In Acts 6:2, the 12 disciples wanted to focus on the preaching of the Word and needed men to step forward to “serve tables.” According to the church Bylaws, “The Board of Deacons, working in concert with the appropriate members of the Pastoral Staff, shall oversee the business ministries and certain administrative and mercy ministries of the Church.” The deacons assist the elders in preparing the budget, care for many of the needs of our congregation in practical ways, administer communion, account for tithes and offerings, assist the elders in various projects and much more. Here are a few examples of ministry undertaken by the board during this fiscal year:

DISCOVER

The deacons discovered new ways of serving this year including assisting our STARS in transportation, lighting up their homes for Christmas and continuing to assist them in shoveling the driveway and walks when it snows. The unemployed and underemployed were contacted to see what practical needs could be addressed this year. This coincided with selection of a new financial counseling lead, Nancy Singer, who will help us start up a new financial counseling ministry at College Church. We also saw an incredible provision of the Lord this year in congregational giving. For the first time in at least 20 years we remained ahead of budget for much of the year, and at one point in late 2019, our giving was 10% above budget. Why the surprising level of provision, Lord? When COVID-19 hit, some light was shed on this question. Thanks be to God.

The genesis of the role of deacon is quite interesting. In Acts 6:2, the 12 disciples wanted to focus on the preaching of the Word and needed men to step forward to ‘serve tables.

GROW

The deacons, assisted by the deaconesses, are responsible for the administration of the Lord’s Supper. It has been helpful to grow our number of volunteers as the woman of College Church have joined the men in serving the elements. It takes more than 70 volunteers each Sunday to serve communion. Gluten-free wafers were added as an option in the elements, and new sanitation measures were put in place, including having servers use hand sanitizer before the passing of the bread and cup.

The deacons also filled a vacancy among our assistant financial secretaries, and we are blessed that Brad Hiben agreed to serve in this role. The care of our facilities is another focus for the deacons, and this year we saw new signage go up around the church grounds to assist our visitors. The deacons also grew in knowledge as we participated in emergency safety training.

IMPACT

One of the primary ways the deacons make an impact is in assisting the elders in the preparation of the church budget. As of this writing, the deacons were working closely with the elders to prepare the 2020-2021 budget, which consists of a line-by-line budget review with the pastors and administrators. The deacons also made an impact by assisting in caring for our church grounds as well as overseeing the administration of our various properties (Kinnaman, Chase Bank, Crossings, Seminary Apartments, etc), overseeing the five-year Capital Improvement Plan and the annual audit process. We are also very grateful to deacon Roger Hughes for making a big impact on our communion process by writing software that greatly simplifies the planning, organization and execution of serving the elements at three services on a Sunday morning.