Establishing New Elder and New Deacons at New Hope Fellowship

We are grateful that this season God is strengthening our church leadership by establishing a new elder and new deacons.

 Our Elder-elect, James J. Lee (Sr) has successfully passed the elder examination administered by our denomination (KPCA) and will be ordained on December 12. We are very grateful for God’s calling upon James and his obedience of faith to be our elder at New Hope. Our church is blessed to have him serve as our elder. Praise God!

We are also in the process of establishing new deacons. This past month permanent officers (ordained pastors, elders and deacons) discerned that we needed more deacons as our church has been growing in number and in various ministerial needs. We have already gone through the first few steps of the deacon nomination process and are planning to have the deacon election on December 5 and ordination in April of next year. You can read about the details of the deacon ordination process below. If you have any questions, you can ask me or the deacon election chair, Deacon James (Jr).

Establishing church leadership is a very important part of life and ministry of a church. Establishing good leaders will strengthen the church and further God’s mission in the world. Our session has nominated a group of godly men and women to be deacon nominees. The nominees themselves are going through the process of discernment. And I invite you, all members of New Hope, to pray. Please pray that God’s will be done and those whom God has called to serve as deacons will answer in faith and obedience. Please pray that God will guide and bless the whole process of establishing new leadership at New Hope. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me or deacon James.

Here is the deacon ordination process overview where I provide answers to the following questions: What is a deacon? What is the significance of becoming a deacon? What is assumed and expected of the person being ordained as a deacon at LPC/NHF? What are the qualifications of a deacon? What is the process of being ordained as a deacon?

1. What is a deacon?

A deacon is called by God and recognized by the congregation to serve the church, especially by caring for those in need, and by managing the church’s finances. They serve the physical and fiscal needs of the church. They also function as the intermediary between the elders/pastors and the congregation. In their intermediary role, they promote and protect the unity of the church through prayer and relational connections. They work alongside the pastors, implementing their preaching, teaching and oversight in the practical life of the church. They are to carry out tasks that are assigned to them by the elders/pastors or as needed by the congregation. They are to support the pastors in their uninterrupted diligence to the task of word and prayer (Acts 6:2-4).

2. What is the significance of becoming a deacon?

The office of deacon is permanent. In our denomination (KPCA) permanent officers include reverend (ordained pastors), elders and deacons. Permanent officers are distinct from Life Groups leaders or ministry team leaders whose commitment is for one year; after a year of serving, they may renew their commitment or they may take a break from serving. By being ordained as a deacon one is dedicating and committing his/her life to serve our church permanently and represent our church publicly. It is a sacred calling and honorable office: “For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 3:13).

3. What is assumed and expected of the person being ordained as a deacon at LPC/NHF?

It is expected that a deacon is an exemplary member. In fact, they have been recognized by the leadership team that they have shown their commitment to the Lord and to our church as faithful serving members. They live out the following four covenant commitments in their lives: 1) Committed to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, trusting and obeying him with whole life, treasuring him above all things; 2) committed to the Word of God as the perfect rule of life and faith, striving to live a godly life and setting a good example outside the church; 3) committed to New Hope Fellowship as his/her home church, participating in church gatherings, including corporate worship, fellowship and small groups; 4) committed to the vision of the church as it moves with a gospel-centered missional spirituality, sharing his/her time, talents and tithes, and supporting church officers.

4. What are the qualifications of a deacon?

The qualification of a deacon is laid out in 1 Timothy 3:8-13: “Deacons… must be dignified [worthy of respect; revered], not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine [sober-minded; not using any substances like marijuana or drugs that intoxicate], not greedy for dishonest gain. [for example, not addicted to gambling] 9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their wives [or husbands] likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife [or wife of one husband; not involved in sexual sins like committing adultery or watching pornography], managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.”

5. What is the process of being ordained as a deacon?

Step 1: Identification

• Qualifications to be eligible to be considered as a deacon nominee include: 1) Godly and blameless character (1 Tim 3:8-13); 2) baptized and faithful member of LPC/NHF for 5+ years; 3) served in a leadership capacity for 2+ years; 4) at least 30 years of age.[1]

• The number of new deacons to be elected are discerned and suggested by the existing deacons. The election chair is established. Deacon James Lee (Jr) is serving as the deacon election chair.

Step 2: Recommendation

• The Nomination Committee (composed of ordained pastors, elders and deacons) reviews the eligible deacon nominees and prayerfully discerns who is to be recommended to become a deacon nominee.

• Those who receive a majority vote by the members of the nomination committee is put on a shortlist. The nomination committee reviews the shortlist before submitting it to the session.

Step 3: Nomination

• The session reviews the shortlist and approves each person to be a nominee for the deacon election. After the affirmation of the session, each nominee is invited to do a self-evaluation in light of the expectations and qualifications of deaconship. Nominees are to prayerfully discern whether they are called by God and whether they are able to commit to serve as a deacon. Family members (spouse and children) should be part of the discernment process. ·        Campus pastors are also involved in the discernment by having a one-on-one meeting with the nominees. The candidates are given two weeks to pray, discern and make a decision.

• After the self-evaluation, prayerful reflection and discernment with the family, a nominee may accept and become a deacon candidate for election. Or a nominee may decline and withdraw from deacon election.

Step 4: Election

• Prior to election deacon candidates are to share their testimony in order for the congregation to know them. Two weeks prior to the election an announcement is made for the congregational meeting to have a deacon election.

• Covenant members vote to elect deacons in a congregational meeting. The congregational vote adheres to KPCA constitution which requires the candidates to receive a majority vote (greater than 50%) of the congregation meeting to be elected as a deacon. We plan to have the election on December 5.

Step 5: Education

• Deacon-elects go through three months of training before the ordination.

Step 6: Ordination

• Ordination service is planned to take place in April of 2022.

[1] When spouses are eligible to be nominated together, we recommend only one of them to be nominated, because the office of deaconship requires a lot of time commitment and sacrifice from the family and having both couples to step into the role at the same time may put a strain on marriage and family life.