A Partnership of Similar Hearts: A Collaborative Approach to Deacon/Pastor Ministry at St. James Baptist Church

This applied ministerial project—A Partnership of Similar Hearts: A Collaborative Approach to Deacon/Pastor Ministry at St. James Baptist Church—examined the knowledge base of the current deacon ministry and its correlation to effective ministry in serving the needs of the St. James Baptist Church (SJBC) family in Greensboro, North Carolina. Coupled with this examination was the need for collaboration between the pastor and deacons in so doing. This project was designed to infuse the integration of the belief systems of the current deacon ministry with training that better serves the people and causes better collaboration with the pastor. This project did address the social problems that the overall deacon ministry of SJBC could face while serving. To add, this project also ensures all aspects of ministry were reflective of the paradigm shift that had taken place within the church, particularly in the area of leadership training. Demands placed by diverse parishioners on the urban pastor and the deacons seem to require the pastor less hands on while relegating many of the essential duties to servant leadership.