Deacon, διάκονος, Diakonos, Waiter
Deacons – from the Greek διάκονος, or Diakonos, meaning “one who waits on tables” – were called to help the disciples shortly after the first followers of Christ were unified a few weeks after Christ’s resurrection.
The reason? The disciples needed to continue to share the Gospel
(Good News of Christ!) but many people came to them in need.
So many that they were unable to both preach and care for the widows and orphans and helpless.
Acts 6:3-6
Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.
This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
Thus, 7 men were chosen to step in to help. Their original job was bringing food to widows – thus the name “Table-waiters” or “Deacons” was assigned to them.
In recent years, that position has been associated with authority in the church – and since deacons are usually fully committed to serving Christ and the church, that might make sense.
But our purpose here is to maintain that original role of those who step in to help care for those in need, so that the pastors can focus their attention of teaching and preaching the Good News.
With that in mind, here are the responsibilities of a deacon at First Baptist Los Lunas.
- To be in communication with church members and families.
- To act as an emmissary of the pastor and church
- To assist members in times of sickness and struggles – emphasizing care of the elderly, widows, orphans, single mothers and those who are helpless.
- To serve as greeters to welcome everyone to services and special events.
- To help maintain and uphold the building and grounds of the church.
What are the requirements to be a deacon?
Find out how we follow God’s Word to lead us to that decision!