Today, marks a day in my life that I will never forget.  I become an ordained Deacon and went through the Deacon Ordination Process.

There are those moments in your life that are life changing.  

Apart from my wedding day and the day I asked Jesus Christ (See my testimony video here) to come into my life, this day, is one of them.

Less than a year ago, I was approached by my Pastor, and asked if I would consider being a Deacon.  I was shocked, honored, and surprised all in one moment.  Not only did I not know what a Deacon was, I never dreamed that I would fit any Deacon ordination requirements.

The word Deacon, comes from the Greek noun diakonos, which appears twenty-nine times in the New Testament and is almost always translated “servant or minister”.  Here are a few scriptures from the Gospels:

The greatest among you shall be your deacon. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matt. 23:11-12)

And (Jesus) said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and deacon of all.” (Mark 9:35)

If anyone deacons me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will be my deacon also. If anyone deacons me, the Father will honor him. (John 12:26). So, in summary, diakonos, generically means to serve or be a servant.

It is not a job title, but a role of serving the church, and outwardly supporting the work of the “pastors”, by caring for the outward or physical concerns of the church.

When I was asked by my pastor to consider this, I had to look up what a Deacon was and then begin attending a mentoring group with others who were also being asked.  Our Pastor, asked us to read a book, which gave me a totally unique glimpse of what this role meant.

You can find out more about this, from this book by Matt Smethurst, called “Deacons: How They Serve And Strengthen The Church“.  I encourage you to buy this book and begin understanding from a Biblical perspective what the role of a Deacon is in the Bible.

From his book, some common diaconal tasks listed are:

• Seeing that the sick, the sorrowing, the aged, and the infirm receive spiritual and physical comfort.
• Leading the hospitality ministries of the church.
• Attending to the normal care and maintenance of the church properties.
• Receiving, holding, and disbursing a fund for benevolence, and reporting from time to time on the use of such funds to both the elders and the church.
• Attending to the accommodations for public worship.
• Assisting in distributing the elements during the Lord’s Supper.
• And, serving in other specific capacities as the church has needs.

My Pastors wife, come up to me after the event was over and said something very special to me that I will never forget.  She said “you were a Deacon, long before you were given the title.”