Officer Nominations: What Do Elders and Deacons Do?

In a previous post, I laid out the criteria and the process for nominating officers at Midtown. As promised at the end of that post, here is a description of what elders and deacons do, and how each office fulfills an important role in God’s church as an overflow of God’s heart. 

God calls his people to cherish his Word so that we may know, believe, love, and obey him. Therefore, God calls elders to minister his Word (and to pray) as their first priority (Acts 6:4). But Jesus taught that we must not only proclaim the Word (Matthew 24:14; Mark 16:15; Ephesians 6:19; Revelation 14:6) but must also promote the Word through deeds of love and mercy (Matthew 7:21, 24-27; Romans 15:18; Colossians 3:17; 1 John 3:18). 

So, while the elders are primarily ministers of God’s Word, deacons are primarily ministers of God’s mercy. 

• The elders lead and organize God’s people to worship God and learn his Word, and the deacons lead and organize God’s people to extend his mercy and benevolence.

• The deacons serve and support the ministry of the elders by handling the the practical needs of the church so that the elders can focus on the spiritual needs. 

To accomplish these ends, elders must shepherd and rule, and deacons must serve and solve problems. While they are separate offices, they are very much linked. That’s why the Apostle Paul describes the qualifications for the office of deacon (1 Timothy 3:8-13) immediately after those for the office of elder (1 Timothy 3:1-7). This is the way God leads his church — with elders and deacons working together for the unity and maturity of his people (Ephesians 4:12-13). 

Let’s pray together that the Lord would provide church officers who long to shepherd and serve according to his Word so that as a church we would delight in proclaiming the gospel with words and promoting God’s glory in deeds. Let’s pray that, for many years to come, our gracious God might strengthen his church gathered at Midtown to live by faith while being led by faithful officers.

— Pastor Rick