
Who We Are
Our work is guided by the Charge to the Deacons (or Deacon’s Mandate) from the Form for the Ordination of Elders & Deacons, 2016.
Our Mission
Transforming Communities with Christ’s Love
Our Vision
Relying on the Holy Spirit, Diaconal Ministries Canada exists to inspire, empower, and equip deacons as they animate congregations to join in God’s transforming work in communities across Canada.
Our Core Values
Prayer, Asset-Based (Community Development), Celebration, Justice, Hope.
Our 5 Focus Areas
Our work is driven by the charge given to the Deacons when they are installed as office-bearers; also known as the Deacon’s Mandate. We see four (4) distinct ministry areas that fall under the scope of the deacons. On top of this, we provide leadership development and help deacons with their administrative tasks (like making workplans).
Justice
Deacons lead and encourage the church to amplify the voices of their community and globally that face systemic barriers and obstacles
Community Engagement
Deacons lead and equip the church to get involved in the life of your church’s neighbourhood
Benevolence
Deacons model to the church how to appropriately walk alongside individuals or households while responding to situations that require assistance
Stewardship
Deacons train and empower their congregations to faithfully use and care for all that God has entrusted us; including time, talents, treasures, and trees (creation care)
Leadership Development
In order to help deacons be at their best and fully understand their role in the church, we also provide leadership development support.
Our History
Back in the 1950s, deacons of the Canadian Christian Reformed church began creating “Diaconal Conferences”. These conferences would meet to share experiences and resources, develop workshops and training events, and find ways to assist each other and their congregations. In these early years, World Renew (CRWRC at this time) worked very closely with diaconates on both sides of the border.
In each region, these conferences were funded via a “ministry share” model, with a cost per professing member to help support their ministry.
Over time, the number of Diaconal Conferences expanded and contracted as the various local organizations merged and/or folded. Leaders of these conferences continued to meet during the late 1980s and early 1990s as deacons maintained a consistent desire to seek even greater levels of cooperation.
Then one day, in 1998, at a Classis Renewal Gathering in Chicago, Canadian folks representing the various Diaconal Conferences, along with representatives from Home Missions (now Resonate Global Mission) and CRWRC, met over lunch and began dreaming about pooling their experiences, resources, and training materials into a national organization that could oversee diaconal work across the nation!
It was an exciting time and, after a few more years of discussions the boards of the remaining conferences jointly approved the formation of Diaconal Ministries Canada in 2001.
A new Board was formally organized that year and consisted of one (1) representative from each of the twelve (12) classes of the Christian Reformed church in Canada. The Board approved a vision and mission statement and identified a number of strategic goals. Diaconal Ministries Canada soon hired a National Director, as well as other support staff, and began organizing training materials and timely regional events and creating a robust website.
At the same time, the funding model which had served each regional conference so well for so many years was approved to be adopted by the national organization.
Our Core Values
PRAYER: We believe in prayer as our overarching value. It’s as important as the air we breathe. It’s how Jesus provides direction for our ministries and the vehicle which the Spirit of God uses to guide and empower us. Therefore, we bathe everything we do in prayer.
ASSET-BASED: We believe that everyone has something to offer others. Therefore, focusing on strengths, gifts, diversity, and collaboration rather than needs, weaknesses, uniformity, and individualism is essential to everything we do.
CELEBRATION: We believe that joyful celebrations give expression to what God has, is, and will be, doing through His creation and our work. Therefore, sharing and reveling in growth stories is an essential part of our organization.
JUSTICE: We believe that God cares deeply about everything He created. Every human being has been created in God’s image and therefore merits equal treatment. Because our world belongs to God, we strive to be wise stewards of all that He has gifted us with.
HOPE: We believe that God is a God of abundance and love and that every person and situation contains glimmers of who He is and the hope He provides. Therefore, we approach every person and situation with a hope-filled attitude.