Deacons first appear in Acts 6 during a time of growth in the early church. In the busyness of this new community life the Apostles instructed the church to choose seven others, filled with the Spirit to assist in serving and leading. The apostles prayed over them and laid hands on them as witness to their calling.
Deacons have, from the beginning, been a vital part of the organisation and ministry of the Church.
All those who are ordained are first ordained as deacons and continue to be deacons as the basis of their ministry. Some are subsequently ordained priest, and some bishops, but others are called to a distinctive ministry as a deacon. Whilst working alongside other ministers in the Church, their vocation is to be ‘outward facing’: to care for those in all kinds of need, to proclaim the gospel, and to enable the people of God to be better equipped to make Christ known in all places in the world.
Deacons are boundary-crossers, always looking ‘out’ from the church, asking how the church and the Christian faith can cross the boundary with the gospel to those who do not yet know Christ, and to those who are in need.
The distinctive diaconate is for those who are strongly drawn to the go-between ministry, seeking out the lost sheep and bringing both the message of the gospel and the practical care that goes with it to those who are not yet disciples.
They have a strong call to an outward-looking and community-minded ministry. They prefer to be out and about, making contacts, building relationships, identifying and meeting needs, creating stepping-stones between God and the world.
They often have a particular concern for issues of poverty and justice and many minister to those on the margins of church and society. Some deacons work with the homeless, with refugees, with addicts, with children excluded from school, with food banks, with sex workers and others on the margins of society.
They advocate for the poor and for justice, not only working with individuals and organisations but also speaking truth to power as prophets of the church.
While all ordained ministry is founded on diaconal ministry, distinctive deacons are free to devote their time and energy to diaconal ministry because they do not have the additional responsibilities entrusted to priests to lead the church in its worship and life.
