Deacons Ministry

Because of the tremendous growth of the church the apostles were unable to meet the needs of all the members. The need for deacons arose because the apostles were overworked, and needed men or women with whom they could share the responsibility of the church.

An excellent example of this is found in the experience of Moses. Moses was leading the children of Israel through the wilderness. He was trying to do everything himself. Jethro, his father-in-law, recognized his problem and persuaded Moses to select able men and distribute the responsibility among them (Exodus 18:13-27).

No pastor can be successful without sharing the responsibilities and work load with others. The deacon’s chief function is to look after the spiritual welfare of the church. Whatever duties fall within this spiritual field are those of a deacon. Not that he is to perform them all himself, but he should readily take the lead in seeing that they are properly cared for.

Far too many men have been ordained in the past who have seemed to consider the office merely as some kind of honorary degree conferred upon them. This, however, is not the case. The office of a deacon honors no man until he or she first does honor to the office. The only place to determine his duties are the Holy Scriptures. It is not necessary for all the jobs expected of a deacon to be listed one by one. God has given the churches and their member’s credit of having and using common sense.

The office of a deacon carries with it no more authority than any other member of the church, but it does carry with it considerable responsibility. For this reason, his or her qualifications are such that he or she should not be ordained to the office until the church is confident that he or she can handle the responsibility, and that he or she can do so without feeling himself or herself a more valid member than the other saints of the congregation.

A deacon is ordained to serve in a particular congregation. This places no other church under obligation to recognize his or her ordination, unless they choose to do so.