Does your church have deacons? And if so, do you know who they are and what they do?
If the answer to these questions is “Yes,” you’re in the minority. Few American churches have a thriving diaconal ministry.
The average church website lists pastors, staff members, and directors who oversee various aspects of ministry, but rarely will you find deacons listed among the leadership. One popular megachurch in Georgia described its ministry structure this way: “There are no deacons, per se… Instead, individuals are chosen by a ministry within the church to represent that group at a quarterly meeting with the senior pastor and other key staff members.”
But what should we expect from a “Children’s Ministry Director” or “Women’s Ministry Director” or “Lay Counselor?” What qualifications must these individuals have? What biblical authority do they carry?
If we allow these roles to be filled by qualified deacons, then we have a clear set of biblical parameters to follow. But if we ignore the Bible’s teaching about deacons, we leave God’s people without clear biblical expectations for their leaders. And we risk weakening of the authority of Scripture as modern ministry titles eclipse the timeless importance of God-ordained offices.
What is a Deacon?
The apostles, of course, appointed elders to lead the first churches: “And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed” (Acts 14:21–23). But we also see the apostles entrusting the practical needs of the church to a second group of leaders:
“And 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. 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 6:2–4
The apostles seemed to envision two distinct ministries within the church: pastoral and practical. Some leaders were to devote themselves to “prayer and the ministry of the word.” Other leaders were to focus on meeting practical needs. The offices of elder and deacon correspond to these two types of ministry. Though elders and deacons aren’t specifically mentioned in Acts 6, the basic differentiation between pastoral and practical ministry lays a foundation that the rest of the New Testament will build upon.
In his commentary on Philippians, J. Alec Motyer observes:
The impression we receive in the New Testament is of local churches loosely federated under apostolic authority, with each church managing its own affairs under the leadership of overseers (who are also called elders) and deacons. Deacons were obviously a distinct office, but we are told nothing about the functions a deacon was meant to fulfill . . . . And if we ask why their representative functions are not more closely defined, then surely the answer is this: ministry arises from the nature and needs of the church, not vice versa.
Alec Motyer, The Message of Philippians, BST Commentary Series (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1984), 25.
It seems highly probable that as Paul and his companions planted churches, they followed the pattern of Acts 6. They began by appointing qualified elders, and they charged those elders to raise up and delegate some aspects of ministry to qualified deacons.
What Do Deacons Do?
The Greek word diakonos simply means “servant.” In the simplest sense, a deacon is someone who serves—and who does so in an official capacity, helping to lead the church through serving.
As I’ve considered the teaching of Scripture and the witness of history, I’ve landed on a directional metaphor for capturing the responsibilities of a deacon. Deacons have an inward responsibility (toward the church family); an outward responsibility (toward the world); and an upward responsibility (toward God).
The early church had a responsibility to those within her bounds, and that responsibility often involved providing food, shelter, and material assistance. The mention of an “official support list” (see 1 Timothy 5:9) implies order and organization. Someone had to create the list, keep it current, and evaluate widows according to its criteria. This was the work of the earliest deacons. The 4th-century Christian document known as the Apostolic Constitutions mandates that deacons “be doers of good works, exercising a general supervision day or night . . . . they must ascertain who are in distress and not exclude them from a share in the church funds, compelling also the well-to-do to put money aside for good works.”
Deacons also lead the church in moving outward to serve the needs of the community. One of my favorite quotes from church history is the complaint of the pagan Roman emperor Julian the Apostate, who was upset that Christians were so effective in mercy ministry:
These impious Galileans not only feed their own poor, but ours also; welcoming them into their agape, they attract them, as children are attracted, with cakes… Whilst the pagan priests neglect the poor, the hated Galileans devote themselves to works of charity . . . see their love-feasts and their tables spread for the indigent. Such practice is common among them and causes a contempt for our gods.
**“Julian the Apostate – New World Encyclopedia,” accessed December 23, 2023. Quoted from Schmidt, Charles, The Social Results of Early Christianity (London: Wm. Isbister, 1998), 328, and Baluffi Gaetano and Denis Gargan, The Charity of the Church, a Proof of Her Divinity (Dublin: M.H. Gill and Son, 1885), 16.
Finally, deacons have an upward responsibility, leading the church toward a deeper pursuit of God. After all, if deacons merely attend to practical needs, then what’s distinctly Christian about their work? Many non-profits and humanitarian aid agencies do similar things. What makes the role of deacon a distinctly Christian office is the fact that the deacons, along with the elders, serve as the church’s pacesetters. They help to set the tone for what’s normal, expected, and commended. If elders and deacons are satisfied with tepid worship, perfunctory prayers, and weak evangelism, then that’s what the church will have. But if the elders and deacons are hungry for more of God; if they long for earnest and prevailing prayer; if they’re zealous to see non-Christians come to faith; then the church will be marked by that kind of spirit.
What Kind of People Must Deacons Be?
As you can tell from what I’ve written so far, I want churches to have deacons. But my deeper burden is for churches to have gospel-transformed deacons. Deacons, you see, help to shape the culture of a church. And because God wants every local church to reflect the beauty and glory of his grace, it’s crucial for deacons themselves to be grounded and rooted in the gospel. They must love the Lord Jesus Christ. They must lead out of their own need for grace. They must know their own heart idolatry and how the good news of the gospel applies to it. And they must have a sense of “gospel fluency” so that they can effectively apply the gospel to others.
Training and empowering leaders like this requires more than just a good plan or a thoughtful process. It requires the wisdom of self-awareness, the power of grace, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I pray that God will stir a vision for this kind of leadership in his church—and in your church.
Gospel Training for Deacons
Every church needs people to take the lead in serving the practical needs of the congregation. In Gospel Training for Deacons, Robert H. Thune is intentional about training deacons by grounding them in the gospel of grace, giving them the tools for spiritual formation, and biblical direction for their role.