BCO 9-6 encourages diaconal conferencing. It might be the easiest way for deacons to connect in order to share resources, fellowship, and participate in the work of the church beyond their local congregations.

If you read Chapter 9 of the PCA’s “Book of Church Order,” you come across two sections (9-5 and 9-6) about deacons serving on presbytery committees and organizing conferences outside of their local congregations. It seems that few people read far enough to know these provisions exist, or what to make of them when they get there.

I’m a deacon at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Athens, Georgia. Recently my presbytery, Georgia Foothills Presbytery, hosted a diaconal conference to connect, encourage, and ultimately grow diaconal ministry.

The conference was held on a Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon, with lunch afterward, deacons and food being inextricably linked (Acts 6:1). We welcomed two speakers for the conference. C. N. Willborn is pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and professor of church history at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Steve Dowling is a ruling elder at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Auburn, Alabama, and moderator of the PCA’s 51st General Assembly. Both men were fantastic speakers and participated in a Q&A session with plenty of questions from attendees.

We also had breakout discussions between speakers to share insights and experiences around fellowship, service, mercy ministries, financial stewardship, processes, safety, security, and how to avoid being merely the church’s handymen. The groups were such a hit that we realized we had not budgeted enough time for them. In our next gathering, we will make these groups a larger part of the day. Overall, it was a tremendous success and most attendees felt energized to go back to their churches and devote themselves more toward table ministry.

Georgia Foothills isn’t the first presbytery to foster this type of diaconal connectionalism. Others have organized meetings around specific topics, piggybacked off already-stated presbytery meetings for deacons to attend, or simply organized regional service opportunities. Central Florida Presbytery has even created a Presbytery Diaconal Committee and administration deacon position at the presbytery level.

Co-Ordination

The conference was an opportunity to try out connectional diaconal ministry and attempt to be Presbyterian deacons, not just Congregational ones. In his book “Resources for Deacons,” Tim Keller says, “As we promote connectional elder ministry, we should promote connectional diaconal ministry. This is consistent Presbyterianism.”

Read More