What Are The Responsibilities Of A Church Deacon?

What are the responsibilities of a church deacon, according to the Bible?

What is a Deacon?

A deacon is a ministry, position, or office in the church that is given to a man who is trustworthy and has lived a life of exemplary values. The same applies to the deaconess. The word deacon is from the Greek word “diākonos” which means “servant” or as it was known at the time of the establishment of this office, the word meant “a table servant.” This office was created by necessity in the first century church when “the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution” (Acts 6:1) so “the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables” (Acts 6:2), “Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:3-4). With that, it “pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch” (Acts 6:5) and so the office of deacon was created.

The Expectations of a Deacon

We don’t have to guess as to what the deacon’s responsibilities to the church are. We can throw out all manmade ideas or the traditions of church and look to what the Apostle Paul laid out as the qualifications for a deacon. These are found in 1st Timothy 3 where Paul writes that “Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain” (1st Tim 3:8). The first things that Paul mentions for a deacon to be qualified for this office is that he must live a dignified life and not be speaking out of both sides of his mouth and abstains from drunkenness but also doesn’t hold the office simply for the money. But more than that, “They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience” (1st Tim 3:9), meaning that he should not be living a secret life of sin but must have a pure heart and clean hands, which is what James said was part of what true religion is (James 1:27b). Clean hands simply means he must be earning an honest living and not into anything simply for “dishonest gain.”

The Abilities of a Deacon

Paul continues to tell Timothy about what the qualifications are but there is more than just external behavior that he’s concerned with as he writes “And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless” (1st Tim 3:10), apparently meaning that the deacon must know the faith well enough to pass it on to others (“be tested first”) before commissioning him. They still have a time of testing where they must “prove themselves blameless” so it may be that some do not qualify as deacons if they don’t know enough about the gospel or later, prove that they are anything but blameless.

Deacons at Home

The deacon that has no control in his own home wouldn’t make a good deacon in a church as Paul writes that “Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things” (1st Tim 3:11) but also “be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well” (1st Tim 3:12), meaning that he must be a faithful husband and administer godly discipline in the home. Twice in this paragraph, Paul says that the deacon must be dignified so as to be respectful of others but also live a life that is respectful before God.

Conclusion

Finally, Paul writes that “For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus” (1st Tim 3:13) and that makes them a great blessing to the church. Every church should have a deacon but every deacon must be qualified biblically or God may not recognize that person for that office. A deacon should help to visit the sick, help ensure the building is safe, and serve those who are in need of help because that’s what deacons do…they are first of all, a servant.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.