Deacon Resignation Letter

It is important to determine to whom a deacon should address a resignation letter in a church environment. It may be the senior pastor, the chairman of the deacons, the entire deacon board or even the congregation. It is best not to discuss the resignation or the reasons behind it with church members until a formal letter has been submitted in the proper manner, and it is usually best to resign and move on quickly.

Format and Content

There is no formal deacon resignation letter format, because the reasons for a deacon resignation can vary from a simple job transfer to another state to an allegation of mishandling of funds on the part of the pastor. In many cases, it is best for the health of the church congregation for a deacon to submit a letter of resignation to the proper person or group and then move refraining from making negative comments publicly.

Sample

This deacon resignation letter sample is for a deacon board and pastor. The deacon is resigning due to the fact that he cannot support the church leadership’s decision to incur a large amount of debt to construct a new building. The deacon believes the church should save the money first.

Dear Pastor Raymond and Deacon Board:

It is with deep sorrow that I find that I must resign from my position as a deacon at ABC Community Church. After much prayer, thoughtful consideration and discussion with my family I believe that my resignation is the best course of action under the circumstances. As I have no ill feelings toward or wish any harm to come to ABC Community Church, the leadership or the congregation, my family and I have decided to leave ABC and seek membership at another church in the area. We hope to maintain our friendships with everyone at ABC and will keep the church, its leadership and members in our prayers.

As you all know through my expression of my opinion during various meetings, I strongly disagree with the decision of the church to incur significant debt in order to construct a new building. In addition to disagreeing over the amount of the loan being obtained, I also disagree with some of the expensive, and in my view, unnecessary features being included in the new building. I believe, for example, that installing imported marble flooring and a koi fountain in the vestibule is an extravagant expenditure and I believe that the congregation’s tithes could be spent more responsibly through outreach to struggling individuals in our local community.

It is my belief that the leaders at ABC Community Church have lost sight of what the church should be and should do. Expensive construction projects are unnecessary, irresponsible and not in keeping with biblical principles in my opinion. Furthermore, incurring a large debt to pay for such luxuries because the church does not have the money in the bank to pay for them outright is even more irresponsible. For these reasons I must resign and my family and I must move on to whatever God has planned for us in the future. My prayers will be with everyone at ABC Community Church.

Sincerely,

Joseph Brown