When a Church Comes Knocking

Diaconal Ministries Canada offers dozens of resources to help deacons live out their mandate and calling. But sometimes we wonder, do deacons and churches in Canada even know what we have to offer them?! And then along comes a church that asks for it all!

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Onboarding New Deacons

A recent “Deacon Chair Conversation” with six Classis tackled the following question:
“It takes new deacons a year to get up and running, and before you know it, we lose them when their term finishes a couple years later. What can we do to onboard them better?”

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Online Stewardship Course Going Live January 2023

Deacons are to encourage their congregations to live stewardly. More practically, to ask the question: “How can my whole life show that Jesus is my Lord?” It’s no secret that deacons often struggle with carrying out this part of their mandate. Help is now here!

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Overcoming Spiritual Roadblocks; Devotion #10 – The Enemy’s Camouflage

The apostle Paul often found himself contending with the enemy throughout his ministry. The devil established strongholds, which are human systems compromised by the enemy. These strongholds attempted to hinder Paul from preaching about Jesus. They blocked Paul’s efforts and even tried to take his life. God empowered Paul to see beyond the physical reality of the human systems to the spiritual forces at work, as it were, behind the scenes.

While Paul was able to discern what was happening, most of the people around him were unaware. The enemy blinded them, so they could not see the truth of what was happening or what the enemy was planning. It was as if the enemy had…

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Overcoming Spiritual Roadblocks; Devotion #9 – Mindsets, Worldviews & Strongholds

Close your eyes and imagine a piece of pizza with all of the best toppings on it.
So, did you see pineapple on your pizza? For some people, pineapple goes on pizza, and for others it does NOT belong there. People have different mindsets when it comes to pineapple and pizza.
Together, a series of mindsets form a worldview, which influences how we see and react to our surroundings. Most of the time, we are not conscious of the mindsets that make up our worldview. Just as we don’t go through life constantly aware of whether we believe it’s appropriate to have pineapple on pizza – until confronted with the issue.

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Overcoming Spiritual Roadblocks; Devotion #7 – Dancing with the Holy Spirit

Ballroom dancing is an excellent picture of how we cooperate with the Holy Spirit to do ministry. The Holy Spirit leads and guides us, and as we cooperate with him, he moves us effectively in ministry. He shows us step-by-step how to fulfill God’s plans and purposes in a given situation. In his sovereignty, God has chosen to partner with us in building his kingdom.

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