A bishop, two or three ministers, and a deacon lead each church district.
Amish churches do not have paid pastors or ministers; instead, the ministry is a shared responsibility among the members of the church. The church is led by a group of bishops, ministers, and deacons, who are selected by the congregation through the lot. These leaders are chosen based on their spiritual maturity, knowledge of scripture, and their ability to lead and serve the community.
The ministry in Amish churches is focused on providing spiritual guidance, counseling, and support to members of the community. They offer teaching and preaching services, lead hymns, and provide pastoral care to those in need. Members of the community are encouraged to participate in the church’s activities, including worship services, prayer meetings, and Bible studies.
In addition to the formal ministry, Amish communities have a strong tradition of informal counseling and support. Members of the community often turn to each other for advice, guidance, and support during difficult times. This informal ministry is seen as an important part of the community’s way of life, and it reflects the Amish value of interdependence and mutual support.
Overall, the ministry in Amish churches is centered around serving the community and promoting the spiritual growth of its members. It is a shared responsibility that reflects the Amish value of humility and service to others.
The bishop is the head of the church and helps provide spiritual guidance to the congregation. Contrary to popular belief, the bishop doesn’t single-handedly decide the rules (known as Ordnung) of the church.
Although in most denominations a man decies to go into the ministry, you do not choose to become an Amish preacher or deacon. You are chosen randomly. If there is an open spot for a church district to have a minister or deacon, the church will call for a lot.
All the baptized members of the church will write the name of one of the men in the church district. They will give it to the ministers who will then countthem up. And if you, as a married Amish man get two or more votes, then you will be put into a group of candidates.
So then what they do is they take the number of candidates they’ll takethe same number of song books. They will put a Bible verse on a piece of paper in one of those song books.
The books are mixed and one is given to each one of those candidates. And then one by one, they will go through and they will open the book to see if they have the paper. The man that has the book with the paper becomes the new minister deacon.
When they choose a Bishop it’s done a little differently. If the Bishop dies of old age in your church district, you now only have two ministers and a deacon. What they’ll do is they’ll make another minister the way I just explained, and then they will make a Bishop out of those guys.
They will hand out books to the ministers and whoever has that paper is now the Bishop.
It’s not like in other denominations where you have the gift of teaching and God lays it on your heart to teach. You go to school and you become a pastor out of that desire or that urge from God.
The Amish use the lot because they believe God chooses who preaches and not man.
The Amish Bishop is the leader of the church, but he confers with the other ministers on decisions. The deacon is the one that handles the finances of the church.
So what do they preach on Sunday? Amish people only have church every other Sunday, but ministers preachers usually go to church every Sunday. So when their home church doesn’t have church, they’ll go visit another church. And Sunday mornings, when the congregation starts their songs and singing, the, the ministers will leave the room and then they will decide who preaches that day.
And the way they decide is by who went the longest without preaching. Every minister studies before he goes on Sundays, in case he has to do the sermon.
Amish people do have Bible scripture they teach on every Sunday. It starts over the beginning of the year. They’ll have a certain set of scriptures that they’re gonna teach that Sunday. And then the following Sunday, there’s more scripture and, and so on throughout the year. But then when the next year comes around, they’ll start over on the same scripture.
The first Sunday of every year has the same scripture. They have a register of what scripture is to be taught on what Sunday.
When it comes to preaching, the Amish do not have a schedule of topics. They share what is on their hearts. And they believe this is from God.