DEACON TEAM RESTRUCTURE

DEACONS AT OGLETOWN

Historically, deacons at Ogletown had a role that combined both the biblical responsibilities of shepherds and deacons. In 2015, the leadership and the congregation worked together to wisely recognize the biblical office of shepherd. This structural change allowed the newly formed Shepherding Team to take the responsibility of being leaders devoted to spiritual oversight of the church. This change also led the deacons to becoming the lead servants of practical service in the church. 

As they were structured in 2015, deacons served on one of four teams that generalized ministry responsibilities at Ogletown. For a decade, these teams were servants in the areas of Mercy Ministry (i.e., benevolence, hospital visits, widow and grief care, and homebound ministry) Worship Service Support (i.e., set-up/breakdown for services, support for A/V, baptism and communion planning, and Guest Services), Operations/Property Team (campus maintenance/beautification, security, work days, and IT) and the Leadership Team who oversees the Deacon Team.

The Shepherding and Deacon Leadership Teams have prayerfully considered reorganizing these general teams into more specific areas of service–assigning one deacon to lead a team of members and regular attenders to serve in more focused ways at Ogletown to build up the church. 

DEACON REORGANIZATION

On Sunday, May 18, 2025, our members will be asked to vote to affirm this reorganization of our Deacon Team that shifts their function from generalists to specialists. This reorganization will increase focus on specific needs and service, and will increase leadership over specific ministries (Eph. 4:12). Existing areas of ministry have been broken down into specific needs (spelled out later in this packet) identified by our staff, ministry leaders, and our Shepherding and Deacon Teams. Each deacon will build and lead a team of members and regular attenders to meet specific needs as they arise. 

As we see in the book of Acts, when the need was identified that widows were being neglected (Acts 6:1) the apostles responded by recruiting seven men “of good repute, full of the Spirit and wisdom” to be appointed “to this duty,” (Acts 6:3). In the same way, these proposed changes will allow us to appoint new deacons, who will work to meet the needs that arise. If a deacon appointment is no longer relevant or needed, the Shepherding Team could move to discontinue a role or position and reassign that individual deacon to a new role. We believe this flexibility will serve the church through many seasons as our church grows. 

In addition to these proposed changes, we will begin a rolling nomination process for deacons throughout the calendar year in order to respond to needs as they arise. A rolling nomination process also improves continuity of service by staggering terms in which deacons currently serve. As always, a deacon must be a member of Ogletown Baptist Chruch and meet the qualification as laid out in 1 Timothy 3. 

DEACON TRANSITION 

Over the last several months, our Deacon Team and Shepherding Team have laid much of the groundwork in writing job descriptions and placing current deacons in roles in order to make this transition smooth and effective. We are proposing a phased transition that would allow our current teams to seamlessly transition from our current generalist model to the proposed specialist model. This transition will also ensure our current deacons are serving where they are most gifted and qualified while making space for adding to our team to fill the roles most effectively. 

Our first phase of transition will take place upon member approval and will include the following deacon roles that will lead a team of members/prospective members within each area. A note on terminology, for example, the Deacon of Communion & Baptism will lead the “Communion & Baptism Team”:

• Deacon of Communion & Baptism (Evan Hollins)

• Deacon of Greeting & Guiding (Caleb Guertin)

• Deacon of Facilities (Alex Mead)

• Deacon of Grounds (Howard Hamm)

• Deacon of Benevolence (Dave Henninger)

• Deacon of Mercy

• Deacon of Livestream 

• Deacon of Recruiting

• Deacon of Children’s Ministry Recruiting (Matt Jones)

Additional phases will include the following deacon roles as well as roles to meet needs as they may arise and will likely be assigned and implemented by the Spring of 2026:

• Deacon of Safety

• Deacon of Worship 

• Deacon of A/V (8:30AM Service) 

• Deacon of Stage Layout/Set-up (11am Service) 

• Deacon of Soundboard (11am Service) 

• Deacon of Production

• Deacon of Member Care

• Deacon of Events 

ROLLING NOMINATIONS

The congregation’s role in the nominating of deacons remains mostly unchanged. Previously, recommendations were received seasonally and often condensed the work of nominating, vetting, voting on, and training new deacons to a single season. Now members are encouraged to nominate potential deacons at any point during the year. While the timeframe for nomination will shift, the process remains unchanged: 

• Qualified individuals are nominated via online form by members of the congregation (linked below) 

• Nominees are reviewed by the Shepherding Team 

• Qualified nominees are interviewed by the Deacon Leadership Team and member(s) of the
  Shepherding Team

• The Deacon Team and Shepherding Teams recommend prospective deacons to the congregation at
  a Members Meeting

• Members of the congregation will have the opportunity to provide feedback before the prospective
  deacon is voted on in a Members Meeting

TIMELINE

MAY 18: Our leadership will be holding an informational meeting in place of our regularly scheduled Sunday Bible Studies at 9:45am in the Sanctuary, to lay out the reorganization as well as provide education about the change and answer questions you may have.

MAY 18: Member vote to approve reorganization during the quarterly Members Meeting at 4:30pm. 

SPRING 2025: Implementation of new structure with assigned deacons. Deacons begin to build teams
within their area of service.

SPRING of 2026: Implementation of second phase of deacon assignments. 

ONGOING: Deacon Nominations submitted by congregation. Recommendations will be vetted, voted on, and assigned as needs arise.