deaconform

Welcome to the Deacon Questionnaire!!

Please know that ALL responses on this questionnaire will be kept confidential within the Nominating Team. We will not share this information with anyone outside of the team. With this in mind, we ask that you answer the questions as honestly and transparently as possible to help us as we navigate the Nominating process.

Here are a couple of instructions before we begin.
1. This questionnaire will take some time to complete. Please plan on an hour from start to finish.

2. At one point you will be asked three questions that require longer answers. We recommend that you write these out in a Word document BEFORE hand and "copy and paste" the answer within the text fields of the questionnaire. Websites time out after a certain amount of time and we don't want you to write everything out and then lose your information. The following are the long answer questions you will be asked:

a) your testimony

b) your understanding of the office of Deacon

c) information to introduce yourself.

3. If at any point of the questionnaire you need to finish it later, please click "Save and Continue Later" at the bottom of any of the pages. This will send you an email address with a link to continue your answers at a later time.
We recognize that this is an investment of time and effort and that we have more people going through this process than we have positions available. Our hope and prayer as a Nominating Team is that regardless of whether you move forward as an Deacon that the time you took considering the scripture during this questionnaire would be worthwhile.

Click "NEXT" to continue.

Name*
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We are so excited about what God is doing at Gashland and that you are in the process of seeking to discern His call on your own life during this time. Before we begin, we have a couple of things to reflect upon.

The Role of the Deacon
Since 2013, the role of deacon at Gashland has transformed. This change was born out of a biblical conviction of the roles and responsibilities that the deacon is called to oversee.

While the Deacons still meet to discuss business items, the bulk ministry decisions of the church are handled by the ministry teams that fall under the Elders and Deacons (click here for the list of ministry teams). Therefore, the day to day ministry decisions of the church are not handled by the Deacons or even the Elders (also called the Session) but by the ministry teams they oversee. The Deacons and Elders have intentionally chosen to delegate these responsibilities in order to involve many more of our congregant's voices in the leadership decisions of the different Gashland ministries. This allows us to have members of the church who are gifted, skilled and passionate about different areas of the church to have ownership in the ministry of the church in a real and tangible way. This allows the Deacons and Elders to tend to what the Bible delegates to them. Acts 6 makes it clear that the Elders of the church are given spiritual oversight, while the Deacons are called to mobilize the church in areas of mercy and to oversee the material items of the church.

While each Deacon serves on a team as a Deacon representative, the Diaconate (the deacons as a group) is committed to not micromanage the teams but to seek to empower the teams to flourish in the area they have been given oversight.

On the following pages, you will answer questions that are meant to be a biblical journey for you as a Deacon candidate of Gashland EPC. We hope it will be a profitable thing for you and one that you will take advantage of to learn and grow.

Perhaps God will use it to kindle your sense of call to this office and to continue in the process, or perhaps He will use it to give you clarity to not pursue the office further. Either way, it is our prayer that God will grow your appreciation for the office and give you a better sense of His call on your life. May God bless you as you continue... please know that the Nominating Team is praying for each of you individually as you answer these questions.
Initial Evaluation*
Before we begin, we'd be interested in your initial sense of call to the office of Deacon. Please select a number below. In regards to God possibly calling me to this role, I feel...

1 is "...that He is not calling me to pursue being a Deacon at this time."
5 is "...that He is absolutely calling me to pursue being a Deacon at this time."
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5

Getting to Know You
We'd love the opportunity to get to know you. Below are opportunities for you to briefly share with us about yourself. Feel free to be as brief or as long as you would like.
Testimony*
Please briefly share your testimony:
Tell Us A Little About Yourself*
Please feel free to share anything about yourself that would help us to know you better.
Sense of Call*
Why do you feel that God may be calling you to serve as a Deacon at this time?

Step 1 of 6

The Role of the Deacon

Getting to Know You

Explanation of Role of Deacon

Mercy Needs

Material Items of the Church