DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The primary responsibility of the Pastoral Service Aides is to offer natural support and spiritual assistance to the Senior Pastor and to his or her Senior Leadership Staff as they oversee the spiritual development of the congregation. To be chosen by God to lead in any capacity in the Body of Christ is an honor and a huge responsibility. The men and women of God need the support of the auxiliaries in order to effectively carry out their spiritual responsibilities on behalf of the people. We should lighten their load so that they may be given over to prayer, fasting and discipleship. Leadership should feel our presence and support. They should not have to wonder if we are there. Every PSA must know that they are a vital member of the Body of Christ and that their support, no matter how small it may seem, is needed. Serve leadership with all your heart. Don’t sit around waiting for the Pastor to ask you to do something. Make yourself accessible. Inquire as to their needs before they ask. Make them feel that you care and understand the pressures of ministry and are more than willing to help them bear the load.

WATCHERS OF THE HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH

One major area of responsibility for the PSA is that of a “watcher”. They must be watchers over the Word of God and the men and women who have been chosen to feed the flock. God has given this ministry an awesome task. We are reformers! We have been hand picked by God to manifest His heart and mind for the Church. As with anything God gives His people to do, there will be much opposition from the enemy. Therefore, we must walk in holiness in order to see the enemy, know his plan of attack and know how to destroy his efforts against us. The devil wants to stop the influence of the Word of God. That has always been his purpose and it still is. The Father will speak a word and the devil will send his agents, soon after, to oppose that word. This was his tactic in the Garden of Eden when he convinced Eve that she could disobey God and live. God’s instructions to both Adam and Eve was neither to touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, nor to eat from it (Genesis 2:17). Then came the serpent and contradicted what God had told them.

Genesis 3:1-5

1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Satan is a deceiver! He is a liar! He will not and cannot change. Therefore, we cannot afford to be ignorant of his plans and the devices he uses to discourage the saints and prevent the lost from receiving the Word of God. We must be vigilant and on the offensive. We must watch what enters the household of faith because Satan will send people into the congregation whose sole purpose is to fight against the leader and/or the leadership staff. He will send in his agents to cause division and to keep strife among the saints. He will sow seeds of discord and clicks will flourish throughout the congregation if the watchers are not on guard. These satanic forces must be dealt with through prayer that is motivated by love and a desire to see the purposes of God prevail. We are in a spiritual battle with a spiritual enemy. We must fight his spirit with the Holy Spirit. We must be skilled in dealing with those whom the devil uses; for our purpose is to love the individual but to uncover how the enemy uses them.

CHAMPIONS OF PRAYER

As PSAs we must also be “champions of prayer.” As you interact among the leaders you will come to know, personally, some of the struggles, tests and/or trials with which they are faced. It is your responsibility as a PSA to offer continual prayers to the Father on their behalf. Leadership should be able to turn to the PSAs for spiritual support and know that their situation will be handled with discretion and put before the Father in prayer. The PSAs are to petition God, continually, for a fresh word so that the congregation will continue to grow thereby. They are to pray for God to keep the leadership on course and that they not add to or subtract from the Word of God. As the Word of God is being ministered the PSAs are to pray quietly to themselves for the speaker and the congregation. They should pray for the Word to come forth with clarity and that the people receive the Word into their hearts. If the speaker is nervous and seem to have lost focus or direction, the PSAs should pray for them. Ask the Father to remove fear and unbelief. The PSAs are also to pray diligently for special projects, conferences, concerts, schools of ministry, plays, etc. The PSAs should pray that the focus of any scheduled ministry be that God be glorified.

SERVICING MEETINGS, SHUT-INS & PRAYER SESSIONS

The PSAs must also make themselves available to serve food and beverages at meetings, shut-ins, prayer sessions, etc., scheduled by the Senior Pastor when asked to do so. The president will decide which PSAs, if not all, will serve at these functions.

A. The PSAs should inquire ahead of time how many people will be attending the meeting.

B. Ask the Pastor what foods and beverages they would like served. While it is the responsibility of the ministry to provide the funds for the purchase of food and beverages, there will be times when the PSAs will be asked to donate the food themselves. For instance, each PSA may be asked to bring a food item.

C. PSAs should arrive at the meeting at least 1 (one) hour prior to start of the meeting to ensure that everything is properly set up.

D. Each PSA must be mindful not to be a distraction to the meeting. There should be no unnecessary talking, walking, noise or loud outbursts.

E. Upon completion of the meeting, the PSAs are to thoroughly clean the kitchen and/or the area in which the food was served.

Note: Situations of a delicate or sensitive nature are sometimes discussed at these meetings. Therefore, it must be the heart of every PSA to keep confidential the issues discussed. The situations or the spiritual location of the person or persons discussed should be taken to God in prayer and not made public throughout the congregation. We must keep in mind that we are servants to the Body of Christ and must be blameless. Being a gossiper or one who simply cannot keep anything to oneself does great harm to the Body and displeases the Father.

The PSA President should assign a personal PSA to the Senior Pastor on a monthly basis to assist with the following:

1. Inquire about and offer prayer for any situations that he or she may be dealing with.

2. Help them prepare lessons for the congregation by looking up scriptures or definitions from the dictionary.

3. Answering phone messages when directed to do so.

4. Pick up dry cleaning, grocery shopping or other errands that he or she may not have time to attend to.

5. Prepare robes or teaching apparel.

6. Help with ironing or light house keeping chores.

INTERNAL DÉCOR

The Pastoral Service Aides are responsible for making all major decorative changes within the sanctuary with Senior Pastor Approval. These areas in which the PSAs are responsible for decorating or redecorating are:

• the bathroom (men & women)
• the foyer, stage/ pulpit, lounge, etc.
• the office of the chief apostle and the senior pastor.

A request to decorate or redecorate an area or room should be submitted to the Senior Pastor for approval. The request should include the following:

1. The area selected for decoration/ redecoration.

2. A blue print or a design plan of what the finished product will look like.

3. The color scheme

4. An estimate of the cost of decoration/ redecoration. (Generally funds for these projects will be provided by the ministry. However, donations can be given toward a project)

5. An estimate of how long it will take to complete the project.