Biblical principles for the service ministries (διακονία) according to the New Testament
God's ministry determines the ministry of the congregationEphesians describes God's eternal plan for all things (Breed 2015a;Floor 2011; Petrenko 2011:79-97; Pretorius 2006:256). God is executing this plan by what the Father has done and is doing through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit (Eph 1-3). He also uses people to execute his plan -people like children, beggars, the apostles, prophets, elders, evangelists, teachers and every believer (Eph 3-6; Petrenko 2011:11-128). In the final analysis, however, the execution of the plan is in his hands (Stott 1991:29, 87, 143, 211). In Ephesians, Paul 1 demonstrates dependence on God by his consistent prayer to God to strengthen the believers in their knowledge of his grace and love for them (cf. Eph 1, 3). He also urges the believers to depend on God and his strength to be able to stand up in the war against evil spirits and sin (Eph 5, 6; Breed 2015a:11). Jesus showed the same dependence in his διακονία (Breed 2014a:5).A congregation that holds the Bible to be the Word of God should build their ministry plan on the work of God (Nel 2015:43). God, the Father, elected people and adopted them as his children (Eph 1). By his mercy, which flows from his love, he raises them from their spiritual death and makes them alive (Eph 2). In Christ, he creates them for the good works that he has planned for them (Eph 2:10). He makes them part of his covenant and promises, and makes them one in Christ 1.The name Paul is used for the author without going into the debate on authorship.When a local congregation holds the Bible as its authoritative source document in a post-Christian milieu and embarks on developing a ministry plan, it should base its plan on the Bible as the revelation of God. One aspect of a ministry plan of a local congregation is the service ministries (διακονία). In this article, I attempt to answer the question what previous exegetical studies by the author and other researchers of the diakon-words in the New Testament could contribute towards the development of a biblically based ministry plan for a local church. The principles for service ministries identified from the results of the previous exegetical work, are presented in an overview and integrated into a plan for service ministries. The conclusion is that the exegetical studies of the διάκον-word group in the New Testament have provided valuable insight into the service ministries and therefore contribute to an overall ministry plan of a congregation.
