Ask Your Preacher - Archives

Ask Your Preacher - Archives

“Deacon”

Categories: THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH
The Bible doesn't give that much detail on the role of a deacon in a church; what is his or her responsibilities, and what are good ideas for them to present to the board?

Thanks,
Want To Be Of Use

Sincerely,
Want To Be Of Use

Deacons are servants of the church.  The word ‘deacon’ comes from the Greek word ‘diakonos’ which literally means ‘servant’.  The Bible doesn’t give a detailed account of their job because there are so many ways that servants can serve.  Deacons in the church are men that meet the qualifications of 1 Tim 3:8-13.

These deacons are a specific type of servant in the church – they serve the eldership (Php 1:1).  Deacons are given authority by the elders to oversee various responsibilities within the church.  These responsibilities might be building maintenance, the treasury, benevolence, etc. – whatever tasks the elders need help getting done are the tasks deacons are to fulfill.  A good example of how this would work can be found in Acts 6:1-4 when the apostles needed help making sure the christian widows received their daily bread.  The apostles had too many responsibilities already, so they delegated that task to seven capable men (Acts 6:5-6).