What do deacons do?
The deacon’s role, as with all Christians, is to serve the body of Christ. The principle difference is that in their service, deacons specifically assist the elders in carrying out an individual church’s vision and mission. While the elders of the church are given the role of oversight and leadership, deacons are given certain ministry roles under the elder’s direction. These ministry roles can vary widely from church to church, but ultimately they all contribute to freeing up the elders for prayer, shepherding, teaching and vision-setting leadership. In keeping with the Acts 6 pattern, deacons free church elders to faithfully exercise their God-given tasks. In effect, deacons are uniquely dedicated servants in the church because they specifically assist the elders so that the work of the church can expand and grow.
Practically speaking, at Exodus Church deacons will:
- Serve the Body by using their leadership skills to organize the church for effectively carrying out Jesus’ mission.
- Assist the elders, enabling them to devote time to prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6).
- Carry out the particular vision and mission of our church, following and assisting the elders as the elders follow the Chief Shepherd.
- Work to organize, delegate, and accomplish the varied practical affairs and tasks that are involved in living out the gospel specifically at Exodus Church.
Click here to see the previous post on “Deacons: who are they?”
