Deacon Leadership and Care Ministry by Drew Kingery

The Catalyst Ministry Plan helps the Deacon ministry at Second in many ways. All the things the Deacon ministry does fall under two areas, congregational leadership and congregational care.

Congregational Leadership: The following things would not have been possible without Catalyst. We’ve been able to purchase study materials and bring in several guest speakers dealing with ways to help us be better prepared to be leaders to the congregation. One of these speakers was Mark Wingfield. He helped us study the subject of baptism, which enabled us to lead the church in a conversation on baptism. Another was Bob Perry, who led us in a discussion and study on how to deal with conflict. We were also able to have Daniel Vestal from the Baugh Center for Baptist Leadership at Mercer University to lead us in a study dealing with Deacons as servant and spiritual leaders.

Congregational Care: One of the congregation care ministries is the Deacon Ambassador program. This program is where we deliver soup mugs to those that visit our church. We also send sympathy cards to those whose loved ones have passed away.

We purchased traveling communion kits. These kits enable deacons and staff to provide communion to those of our congregation that are home-bound, in elder care facilities, or in the hospital. Shortly before John Shank’s death, his Bible study class visited him in his extended care facility on his birthday and had communion with him. Catalyst funds make this kind of congregational care possible.

The Deacons host a new member dinner at Jason and Christy’s house where new members are invited to have dinner and fellowship. We also host the all-church Christmas party at Jason and Christy’s home and the Easter Egg Hunt. Food for these events is often provided by volunteer cooks, but other costs are absorbed in our Catalyst Ministry Plan.

The Deacons provide goodies to the church staff on their birthdays. It’s a way we show our appreciation for all they do.

These things are some of the ways that we lead and care for the congregation. None of which would be possible without the Catalyst budget.