Joyfully submitted to the authority of Jesus Christ, who is the head of the Church, and bound by the authority of the Scriptures,
MERCY’S DOOR is
ELDER-LED.
DEACON-SERVED.
& MEMBER-INFORMED.
WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE SAY JESUS IS THE HEAD
In Scripture, the Church is called, “the flock of God” (1 Peter 5:2), “God’s heritage” (1 Peter 5:3), and “the church of God” (Acts 20:28). Jesus Christ, who is Himself God, is called “the head of the church” (Ephesians 5:23) and “the chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4). The church belongs to Christ, and He is the ultimate authority over His church. (Matthew 16:18).
WHAT ARE ELDERS?
Elders are the leaders of the church, and are also interchangeably called pastors, shepherds, bishops and overseers in the New Testament of the Bible (Acts 20:28; Eph. 4:11; 1 Pet. 5:2). The elders are men chosen for their ministry according to clear biblical qualifications (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). The elders are always spoken of in plurality because God intends for more than one man to lead the church as a safeguard for both the church and the man.
Elders are under-shepherds who carry out the honor of feeding and tending to local flocks who are under the authority of their chief Shepherd, Jesus. They, just like the rest of the flock, are utterly dependent on and submissive to the chief Shepherd.
WHO ARE THE ELDERS OF MERCY’S DOOR?
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Adam transplanted from a small town in the Berkshire foothills of Western Massachusetts to the suburban sprawl of Chicago as a teenager. There, Adam met Jesus as a young adult and was invited into local church ministry service shortly thereafter. He served first as a deacon for a church plant in Oswego, Illinois, where the pastors trained him in preaching and shepherding. Six years later, Adam was sent out to Mascoutah, Illinois to help carry out a new gospel work in this city. It is his joy to serve the church today as her Lead Teaching Pastor. Adam and his wife, Sarah, are blessed with 3 children: Jack, Boaz, and Augustine. Prior to vocational ministry, Adam managed clinical and business operations for healthcare systems.
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Brett and his wife Kat have been married for 12 years and have three amazing kids: Kelty, Kallum, and Beck . Brett and Kat came to Mercy's Door after spending three years in Southeast Asia as missionaries and english teachers, and they have been in full-time vocational ministry for the last 14 years. Brett's originally from the Metro East while Kat's family moved all around during her childhood. Brett's role at MD is to lead Sunday morning worship gatherings and continue to lead our church in a spirit of worship as we come face to face with the good news of the Gospel.
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Dude went from small-town California to Rochester, New York after High School. During that first year of undergraduate study, Jesus got ahold of his life. Dude transferred to Southern California to complete his degree and met his wife, Joy, there. Those were stretching and memorable years for both of them getting to know God and following Him in service. After college came a Navy career, marriage, four kids, and 14 moves that brought him to Scott AFB. At Mercy’s Door, Dude has served as a GC leader, and elder.
Dude and Joy have four amazing kids: J.D., Matt, Moriah, and Beth. They all enjoy music, construction, and spending time with people.
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Mike and and his wife Sandy have been married for 37 years and are the proud parents of Michael and Rachael Collins and Stephen and Angela Kull. Meemaw and Pops (as they are lovingly refered to) spend much of their time hanging out with their 9 grand babies.
WHAT DO ELDERS DO?
Elders are given responsibility by God in the Scriptures to oversee the local church (1 Timothy 3:1), to stand before the church to diligently care for the flock (1 Timothy 5:17), including to exercise church discipline and to reprove those who err from the faith (Matthew 18:15–17; 1 Corinthians 5:11–13), to feed the flock (1 Peter 5:2), and to guard the doctrine of the church (Titus 1:9). As such, at Mercy’s Door, we say that elders are responsible for Doctrine, Direction and Discipline.
DOCTRINE.
ELDERS ARE RESPONSIBLE TO:
Teach the Bible accurately. (Eph. 4:11; 1 Tim. 3:2)
Preach. (1 Tim. 5:17)
Teach sound doctrine and refute false teaching. (Titus 1:9)
Protect the church from false teachers. (Acts 20:17-31)
DIRECTION.
ELDERS ARE RESPONSIBLE TO:
Lead the church. (1 Tim. 5:17)
Manage the church. (1 Tim. 3:4-5)
Care for the flock. (James 5:13-15; 1 Pet. 5:2-5)
Give an account for the church. (Heb. 13:17)
Rightly steward the money of the church. (1 Pet. 5:1-3)
Train other leaders and teachers in the church. (Eph. 4:11-16; 2 Tim. 2:1-2)
DISCIPLINE.
ELDERS ARE RESPONSIBLE TO:
Care for the flock. (James 5:13-15; 1 Pet. 5:2-5)
Live exemplary lives. (Heb. 13:7)
Rightly use the authority that God has entrusted to them. (Acts 20:28)
Discipline unrepentant Christians with a heart for their restoration. (Matt. 18:15-17)
WHAT ARE DEACONS?
Deacons are Biblically-qualified, faithful servants of the body of Christ who are recognized by church members for their faithfulness and character and are appointed by elders to carry out ministry service in the church (1 Tim. 3:8-13).
WHO ARE THE DEACONS OF MERCY’S DOOR?
BENTON BARBY
Discipleship Tracks
KAT BARTON
Women’s Ministries
WHAT DO DEACONS DO?
Biblically, deacons are deployed to assist the pastors by protecting church unity, organizing practical service, and meeting tangible needs. In a general sense, every Christian is called to be a deacon (the New Testament word diakonos simply means “servant”). But the designation is not always generic; it is also used to describe a formal church office. Deacons are model servants who excel in being attentive and responsive to tangible needs in the life of a church.
On the broadest level, diaconal work can be summarized as encompassing three things in the life of a church: meeting tangible needs, protecting church unity, and supporting the ministry of the elders.
MEETING TANGIBLE NEEDS.
The apostles’ response to the brewing conflict in Acts 6 was to lead the congregation in setting apart seven men who would coordinate a solution to the problem. Informed by this precedent, diaconal work through the centuries has focused chiefly on tangible needs, particularly caring for the poor and vulnerable. The deacon’s role, more thoroughly, can include any ministry service that threatens to derail elders from the primary responsibilities Scripture calls them into.
PROTECTING CHURCH UNITY.
Just as the seven were tasked to salvage the unity of the Jerusalem church, so deacons today are meant to play this pivotal role in church life. A quarrelsome Christian will make a poor deacon. Deacons are to be marked by a palpable sense that they have not yet arrived. A spirit of gentleness. A willingness to be flexible. The ability to stand on conviction without being combative. A qualified deacon will increasingly resemble the kind of unity-building love the Bible so clearly commands.
SUPPORTING THE MINISTRY OF THE ELDERS.
It is not accidental that Paul turns his attention to deacons (1 Tim. 3:8–12) immediately after discussing elders (1 Tim. 3:1–7). The structure suggests deacons are both paired with and subordinate to the elders they support. This relationship between the offices is also implied in the other passage where deacons (plural) are mentioned (Phil. 1:1):
By enabling elders to remain focused on their teaching and prayer roles, deacons both guard and advance the ministry of the word. They help to execute practical demands of ministry to assist the elders in executing the ministry of the Word and to remain devoted to prayer.
““For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.””
WHAT IS A MEMBER?
In addition to elders and deacons, within the church are members. These church members take responsibility to ensure the local church’s health and growth. Church members are Christians whose eyes are capable of seeing beyond themselves to the wellbeing of the whole body. They realize Jesus died not just for them but also for the church (Acts 20:28).
Scripture tells us that leaders within the church are called to “equip the saints – or believers – for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” (Eph 4:12-13). Essentially, we are called to function as one body, made up of many members, with Jesus Christ as our head, working together to grow into maturity (1 Cor 12:12-31). When all believers – not just church staff – embrace the importance of their role in the church community, the body of Christ is able to function with all of the faculties it is supplied with. When each part is working properly, the body grows into health and strength (Eph 4:16).
So you should not enter into the membership covenant because you’ve been around Mercy’s Door awhile and figure it’s the next step or “something you should do.” Nor should you enter into the membership covenant simply to say, “Mercy’s Door is where I go to church.” That’s part of it but membership is more than that. It is an informed commitment to the doctrine and vision of Mercy’s Door, a willing submission to the leadership of the church and an intentional embrace of your role in the body of Christ and the mission of the church.
WHAT SHOULD I KNOW BEFORE I BECOME A CHURCH MEMBER?
Some Christians question whether they need to have a church home in which they participate as official members. The illustrative imagery of the church through The New Testament leaves no room for non-membership. The imagery used includes the fact that Christians are to work together as a family (1 Tim. 3:15; 5:1-2) or as the parts of a body (1 Cor. 12:16-17). The early church had a notion of membership that included numerical records (Acts 2:37-47), records of widows (1 Tim. 5:3-16), elections of deacons (Acts 6:1-6), discipline (Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5; Gal. 6:1), accountability (Heb. 13:17), and an awareness of who was a church member (Rom. 16:1-16).
We believe obedience to New Testament teaching requires that a Christian be a member of a local church. When the Bible speaks of church membership it does not take it lightly, but does so with all seriousness in relational terms. Christians are to work within their particular church for the cause of the gospel (Rom. 12:4-5; Eph. 2:18-19). Church members must be trained and released to use their gifts and resources in various ways so that they too are serving the church, with the pastors and deacons, so that all may be doing “the work of the ministry” (Eph. 4:11-12). Inside the church and outside the church, members are to serve believers and unbelievers by telling the gospel of God concerning Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. In addition, all members are to serve their church and the world by loving others as themselves. The church, purchased by Jesus, empowered by the Spirit, reconciled to the Father, works together as ministers of the same reconciliation of the gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5).