What does the church do when it finds itself in difficult situations?

When the early church experienced difficulty, the church turned to men of good reputation to lead the church and bring it into harmony. Acts 6 describes a time when different groups in the church in Jerusalem disagreed.

The two groups had significant differences. One group (called Hebrews) had only lived in Israel and held strictly to the ways of Judaism. The other group (called Hellenists) had lived at time to time outside of Israel and looked at life differently.

The Hellenists in the church felt their widows were not being treated with the respect and honor they were due.

To address this issue the apostles asked the church to pick “men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3) to care for the needs of the church and bring the church into harmony.

Many people believe this is the first instance of deacons in the church.

Because of their responsibility, deacons have specific qualifications in the Bible. Both Acts 6 and 1 Timothy 3 describe the qualifications of deacons. Deacons should be men filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom, men of good reputation who model the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their lives. In addition, they should be men who exhibit strong family lives and are respected for sound judgment and loving concern for others.

Each year First Baptist Church elects twelve deacons to serve a two year term. The deacons are called by the church to help in pastoral ministry and to model consistent Christian living before the congregation.

At FBC, deacons are the people (among many others) who visit the hospitals and nursing homes, care for the hurting, and share the message of the Kingdom of God.

At FBC Covington we ask our church to recommend men they believe fit the qualifications for deacons. These men are then considered and prayed over. Our Deacon Nominating Team presents a slate of nominees who are then voted on by the church.

Our deacon election will take place this year the weekend of November 2-3, 2013.

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