Deacon Ministry Teams

The deacons have replaced the Deacon Family Ministry Plan with Deacon Led Ministry Teams. These teams are gifts based and passion driven. No deacon has been assigned to any team. Rather, each deacon has chosen a team based on his or her gifts and desire to serve in a specific area of ministry. Teams were formed after polling the deacons of the top ministry needs of the congregation. Job descriptions of the teams were developed by the deacons.

The deacons welcome others with similar gifts and passion to speak with them about joining their team to do ministry.

Homebound Team

1. The Homebound Committee exists to minister to members of First Baptist Church who are unable to attend church activities for various reasons.

2. We are going to create and maintain a list of church members that we will contact personally to establish what the needs of the individuals are. We will ask them how the church might serve them, or serve them better.

3. We will show the love and compassion of Jesus Christ to the homebound and make sure they understand they still remain an important piece of our church family, and that they will not be forgotten just because they are not seen.

Team Leaders: Joe Morgan, Ramone Gilbert, Brent Madden, and Shawn O’Neal

If you have the gifts of mercy, encouragement, helps, or faith, this could be a team for you. If you have a passion for loving those who can no longer attend church, this could be the team for you. This is very rewarding work.

Handyman Team

The mission of the Handyman Team is to provide general maintenance for the homes of the FBC Jefferson Family who are unable to otherwise do for themselves, giving them a source of assistance from qualified individuals they can trust. This team will also provide general maintenance to the church campus. Other church members who possess special skills will be enlisted to assist this team as needed.

The Handyman Team will seek to perform maintenance issues such as:

1. Minor electrical repairs including replacing burned out lights

2. Minor plumbing repairs

3. Minor painting projects

4. Minor carpentry work

5. Wheel chair ramps

6. Handrails

7. General yard maintenance

Team Leaders: Ronnie Hopkins, Dennis Elrod, and Tom Bledsoe

If you have the gifts of craftsmanship, helps, or administration, this could be a team for you. If you enjoy repairing, cleaning, helping, or just being a “go-for,” this could be a team for you. It’s very rewarding to do something for those who cannot do for themselves and to help keep our church campus and facilities in good repair.

Community Involvement Team

The mission of the Community Involvement Team is to share the love of Jesus through service for the betterment of the community of Jefferson and Jackson County which involves and promotes the mission and the values of First Baptist Church Jefferson.

The team will seek to:

1. Expand community awareness of the ministries of First Baptist Church Jefferson.

2. Help meet the unique needs of individuals in the community.

3. Attract new members to First Baptist Church Jefferson.

4. Encourage church member to take an active role in serving the community.

Team Leaders: Jim Hix, Jon Howell, and Bruce Parker

If you have the gifts of leadership, administration, wisdom, or helps, this could be a team for you. If you have creative and fresh ideas how FBC can maintain a strong Christ-like image in our community, you should join this team. If you want to see our church move beyond the campus and serve the community, you should definitely become a part of this team.

Prayer Team

The mission of the Prayer Team is to create and promote an attitude of prayer with Jefferson FBC and to move us toward becoming a prayer-driven church.

This will be accomplished by:

1. Coordinating specific times for prayer open to all and to pray for specific issues/people/items.

2. Praying behind the scenes for our church staff, members, and community.

3. Communicating prayer requests to members of the congregation when asked.

4. Coordinating prayer campaigns for specific reasons.

This team will genuinely:

1. Pray for each request

2. Pray for God to be glorified in all requests

3. Keep prayer requests anonymous when asked to do so.

4. Involve members in order to help the church grow in the discipline of prayer.

Team Leaders: Janice Wilbanks and Paul Hoch

If you have the gifts of faith, giving, intercession, giving, or leadership, this could be a team for you. Do you believe in the power of prayer? Would you like to gather with others and pray for the needs of the church? Would you like to help lead to the church to be more intentional in praying for others, our community, and our world? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you should pray about joining this team.

Hospital/Sick Team

The Hospital and Sick Team exists to extend Christian love, care, and compassion to those in the hospital/rehab center and/or at home due to sickness, injury, or surgery.

The Hospital/Sick Team will:

1. Contact the church staff, church office bulletin board, Sunday school teachers, and Wednesday night participants for information regarding church members and others who need to be contacted.

2. The team will use discretion to determine who needs to be contacted and the kind of contact needed (visit, phone call, card, etc.)

The team is guided by Jesus’ love, care and compassion to those with health related issues.

Team Leaders: John Peebles, Nick Bledsoe, Steve Hix, Ed Thompson, and Gary Fowler

Perhaps you have been on the receiving end of caring ministry while you were sick or in the hospital. You may have received a card, phone call, a home cooked meal, a prayer, or a visit from a concerned church member. If so, you know how important this ministry is and how touches of love like this can play a role in the healing process. If you have the gifts of mercy, helps, intercession, faith, or encouragement, you could be a great asset to this team.

New Prospective Members Team

The mission of the New Prospective Members Team is to welcome prospective members into our church by responding to prospective members that have visited our church, reached out to our church in other means or joined our community.

This team will seek to:

1. Reach out to prospective new members that have visited our church.

2. Educate, enlist and encourage church membership in contacting prospective visitors that have visited our church.

3. Assist church staff with assessing, developing and implementing new member education programs.

Team Leaders: Brent Madden, Joe Morgan, Ed Thompson, and Ray James

Whose responsibility is it to look around each Sunday and see who is new? Who checks to see that all of our guests are welcomed and become assimilated to our church as quickly as possible? This isn’t just the responsibility of the staff. We need people who make it their passion to seek out guests and help them learn about our church, its mission, and and ministries as soon as possible. Many guests will only give us one opportunity. If you have gifts of hospitality, helps, encouragement, or faith, you can help people take the next step to making FBC their home.