Deaconess Marilyn Miller

For many years I sat in the worship services and Bible classes hearing the call to serve God with my time, my talents, my treasures, and with every part of my life. When I was choosing a career some years back, being a called worker meant being a pastor or a teacher. Becoming a pastor was ruled out by nature, and I’m not known for my talents as a classroom teacher. Where did I fit in? I had a pastor tell me that the church needed committed lay people as much as it needed called workers. This satisfied me somewhat, so I went about building a career in the business world.

Decades passed. God blessed me with a very successful career. He also gave me many wonderful opportunities to serve him in my local congregation as well as in other organizations. But I still heard that nagging voice and I wanted somehow to do more. Just as I personally had changed and matured over the years, so had the opportunities for formal service in the church taken on a new look. In the spring of 2005, I decided to do something drastic – I quit my job. I didn’t know it at the time, but God was finally answering that prayer.

He very quickly led me to the staff ministry certification program at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota. I was thrilled to sit in the classrooms, studying the Word of God and learning the other skills that I would need as a staff minister. I had already learned many of those skills in the business world, but the approach and the motivation is so very different in the church. After two semesters on campus I found myself back in my home congregation in Houston, Texas, doing a semester of internship. A whirlwind 16 months after beginning my training, my home congregation extended a call, asking me to serve as their deaconess.

Since January 2007 I have served as a deaconess at Abiding Word Lutheran Church in Houston. Abiding Word is a 38-year-old congregation in the northern suburbs of Houston, and it has about 600 members. They have 80 students in their K-8 Lutheran elementary school and 45 children in preschool, ages 18 months to pre-K. It is being served by two pastors and a deaconess, 5.5 called teachers, a called preschool director and about a dozen preschool workers. God has greatly blessed Abiding Word with continued growth, and they plan to add two more called workers beginning with the fall semester.

My call is divided into two major areas: facilitator of ministry and organization/administration. The responsibilities in the call are quite broad, but they fit my talents and interests very well. This is one of the wonderful benefits of calling a staff minister: the call can be structured to fit the unique gifts of the worker.

The facilitator of ministries category covers three major areas of responsibility: evangelism/outreach, special ministries, and women’s ministries.

Of primary importance to a congregation is organizing and maintaining prospect files and calling on prospects and visitors. Little things like sending a welcome card and making a personal call to those who visit a worship service can make a significant impression on those looking for a church home. A bi-monthly newsletter is used to maintain regular contact with the prospects. We also reach out to unchurched school and preschool families. Each week the ministry staff assigns the member and prospect calls that need to be made, thus making it possible to sit face to face to share God’s Word with a significant number of individuals.
Special ministries responsibilities include the development of dependency/support groups, managing our needy assistance program, family ministry, and also hospital and shut-in visitation. One of our success stories is the formation of a caregivers’ Bible study that has expanded into a wonderful support and prayer group. A number of the women seeking counseling have commented that they very much appreciate being able to share their concerns and get spiritual advice from a woman. Even though they agree that the pastor would give them excellent counseling, some feel more comfortable talking with another woman.

The women’s ministry at Abiding Word is very large and very active. A few of their many programs include women’s Bible studies, an annual women’s retreat, the new member assimilation activities, assistance for needy members in the form of food and visitation, altar guild, regular contact with mission families, and prayer meetings. They have more than 30 different active programs. The deaconess is the advisor to the women’s ministry, prepares the Bible study and devotion material, trains other women to lead Bible studies, provides leadership training, and is a coach and advisor to the women’s leaders.

The second major area of my call is organization and administration, which is divided into two major activities: church business manager and technology officer.

The church business manager to-do list is extensive because very little had been done in this area. Initial focus was on writing a staff policy manual and now writing board/council handbooks and job descriptions. Once completed, these handbooks should make the council and boards operate more efficiently and more consistently. It is expected that the learning curve for new members will be significantly reduced. Documenting the highly technical and precise procedures for some positions, such as treasurer and financial secretary, will be invaluable as new men take over these roles. As the human resources contact, there are wages, benefits and salaries to administer and budget.

For a creative break in the day, the website and electronic sign on the front lawn are always in need of updating and programming. Not only do these provide valuable communication to our members, they are also our image to the world.

My call is likely more inclusive than that of many staff ministers. However, it was designed to meet the expanding needs of the congregation as well as my unique gifts, and it works well for us. Previously, some of the things that fill my day were being done by the pastor, some were being done to a limited degree by volunteers, and many were needs not being addressed at all.
Staff ministry provides a way for many of us with skills and desires other than preaching and teaching to serve the Kingdom on a fulltime basis. At the same time, it provides a trained resource to address the many changing needs of our congregations as they reach out to a changing world.

Marilyn Miller is a certified staff minister serving as a deaconess at Abiding Word Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas.