In the Baptist church the Deacons are elected by the full members of the church and they serve for a set period of time, there is no limit to the number of times that they serve as Deacons. The number of years which they serve after election has varied since the formation of the Church from seven to four years. In the early days of the church all Deacons were appointed for life. During the 19th and 20th centuries a small number of leading members of the Deaconate were appointed as Life Deacons, the last Life Deacon died in 1979.