Each year the Deacon Nominating Committee asks our church body to provide recommendations for selecting deacon candidates to serve VGBC.  This is the first and most vital step in the deacon process.  Please take the time to help us by prayerfully considering men in our church you would like to nominate to serve our Lord and VGBC.

1)  Spiritual Requirements

a)  Full of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:3):  Spirit led; seeks to know the will of God; Christ controlled.

b)  Full of wisdom (Acts 6:3):  The wisdom which is from above; pure, peace-loving, considerate, gentle; the ability to discern right and wrong and stand for his convictions.

c)  Full of faith (Acts 6:3):  Like Stephen, a deacon’s faith at times requires him to risk himself and his possessions.

d)  Tested and proved (1 Tim. 3:10):  Demonstrates his commitment to ministry before being elected to serve as a deacon.

e)  A man of good report (Acts 6:3):  Has a good reputation among those he works with in and outside the church.

f)  Grave (1 Tim. 3:8):  Worthy of respect; a man of dignity; possesses Christian purpose in living.

g)  Not double tongued (1 Tim. 3:8):  Honest, truthful, dependable.

h)  Not given to much wine (1 Tim. 3:8):  Temperate in living, doing all to the glory of God.  (The church expects deacons to abstain from the use of alcohol.)

i)  Not greedy of filthy lucre (1 Tim. 3:8):  A good steward; not greedy of material gain; uses his energy in a Christ-honoring way; has resolved the God-mammon issue in his own life, and sets an example of storehouse tithing.

j)  Blameless (1 Tim. 3:10):  Beyond reproach; a man against whom no charge of wrongdoing can be brought with success.

 2)  Doctrinal Requirements

      a)  A holder of the faith (1 Tim. 3:9):  Gives strength to the fellowship; sound in doctrine; in harmony with our Church Covenant, Statement of Faith, and the historic beliefs of our denomination.

      b)  Bold in faith (1 Tim. 3:13):  Holds firmly to what he believes.

3)  Marital and Christian Family Life Requirements

      a)  Husband of one wife (1 Tim. 3:12):  A model of faithful devotion to one woman, committed to the sanctity of marriage. Behind this passage lies the teaching of Jesus with its rejection of divorce (Mark 10:2-12).

            i)  Does not exclude bachelors.

            ii)  Does exclude one who is divorced.

      b) “Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things” (1 Tim. 3:11).

      c) Good managers of their children and their own households (1 Tim. 3:12).  Loved and respected by all family members, a leader of a family where relationships are healthy and spiritually growing.

4)  Practical Requirements

      a) Be at least 21 years of age.

      b) Be a member of Vista Grande Baptist Church for at least six months.

      c) Be an active resident member of Vista Grande Baptist Church.