Page 174 - Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible Christianity. Based on the King James Bible

DEACON

problems in his own life which must be healed and expectations. Their congregation has doubled and
worked out by the Spirit of God before he can be the doubled again in size. Their building has more than
kind of leader in his home he is to be. We can praise doubled. The church is able to support its pastor full
God that in Christ all spiritual and moral problems can time as well as several assistants. They support many
be healed. Indeed, we read that “his divine power hath missionaries and have given hundreds of thousands of
given unto us all things that pertain unto life and dollars to missions. This isn’t surprising, though. Didn’t
godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath the Lord promise, “Give, and it shall be given unto
called us to glory and virtue” (2 Pe. 1:3). The power for you”? (Luke 6:38). Of course, but it requires faith to
healing, forgiving and growing is the heritage of every believe and act on this promise. Let me give another
true Christian. Thus, there is always the possibility of example. In the early 1990s, the Bethel Baptist Church of
working out problems in the home and developing the London, Ontario, was meeting in a storefront building
kind of family life demanded by God. The Bible makes it and though they had a growing building fund, they saw
plain, though, that until the man has a godly home he is no reasonable possibility of purchasing their own
not qualified for church office. He must rule his family property because of the high value of real estate in the
“well.” area. Pastor Wilbert Unger had a burden to start a
(7) Honest Reputation (Ac. 6:3). Not only must the printing ministry to send out the Word of God and
deacon be an honest man, he must have an honest sound Bible teaching via the printed page across this
report. This speaks of his reputation in the church and needy world. He approached the congregation about
the community. using a large portion of the building fund to establish a
(8) Wise in A Spiritual and Practical Sense (Ac. 6:3). print shop and to hire a printer. The people agreed, and
(9) Man of Faith (Ac. 6:5). Many financial decisions the project was completed. From the Bethel Baptist print
shop, hundreds of thousands of books and Scriptures
and other practical matters handled by the deacons and magazines in many languages have since been
must be made before God through much prayer and BY distributed to the glory of God. What about the church’s
FAITH rather than sight. The deacons, then, must be building? Within one year of their decision to use part
more than good businessmen. They must have personal of the building fund to print the Word of God, the Lord
faith in God and understand the spiritual aspects of opened the door for them to get into their own lovely
God’s financial and church program. Churches have building, and they were paying less for the mortgage
often been hindered from supporting missionaries or than they were for rent in the storefront! Today the
doing other things God was directing them to do simply building is debt free. I will give one other example.
because some men involved were not men of faith. When the Tri-County Baptist Church in Katy, Texas, was
We witnessed something a few years ago that just starting out in the late ‘70s, they were meeting in a
illustrates the importance of this. At a preacher’s storefront building and were saving toward the
fellowship, I was introduced to a pastor in North purchase of their own property. Eventually they
Carolina who was interested in our missionary work. His obtained some acreage outside of town and had
church was only a couple of years old and had just $10,000 in the bank toward a building fund. At that
moved into a new building and they had a large debt. time they received a letter from a missionary they
He was working a regular secular job and was not supported, requesting help to put the roof on a
supported by the church. In fact, he had placed a missionary church. The missionary congregation had
mortgage on his own house to help finance the church poured the foundation and put up the walls, but they
building. He told me that he would like to have me visit needed help to finish the roof before the rainy season
his church and speak, but under the circumstances, they began. It did not seem reasonable for Tri-County Baptist
could not possibly support us financially. I decided to go to use their building fund to help this missionary church
anyway and I arrived the next Sunday morning to with its building when Tri-County did not have its own
preach and tell about the Lord’s work in South Asia. building; yet this is exactly what the Lord led Pastor
Before the service, the pastor took me aside and said, Rick Shrader to do. His men agreed wholeheartedly, and
“Brother, God has spoken to me this week that we the church sent its entire building fund to the mission
should support you. I don’t know how we will do it, but field! God richly blessed this sacrificial step of faith, as
I believe we must. For now, we want to promise you $25 He always does, and within one year, Tri-County had its
monthly support, and we will trust the Lord for that own beautiful building debt free! What if there had
amount.” That was almost twenty years ago, and they been men involved in the above decisions who were not
have never missed a month. In fact, they quadrupled the men of faith and evangelistic burden—unspiritual,
original monthly amount. They obeyed God by faith, worldly-minded deacons, for example? They would no
and He enabled them beyond their visible means. In the doubt have discouraged the idea of helping missionaries
years since, God has blessed them beyond their by faith, saying it would not be wise or reasonable

174 Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity