This synopsis of the deacon office at CHBC is intended to serve three audiences.

First, it is intended to serve our church members. We hope this document is informative, clarifying, and most of all a tool for prayer. Your deacons need your prayers. Furthermore, your life with Christ will flourish in proportion to the deacons’ effectiveness and diligence.

Second, it is intended to serve men and women who aspire to the diaconate. What Paul says of those who aspire to become elders can equally be applied to the aspiring deacon: “he desires a noble task” (1 Tim 3:1). Here, you will find the qualifications for the deacon office and an outline of deacons’ responsibilities. Strive to grow in these virtues and excel in these responsibilities as an ordinary member of the church, even before you hold an office.

Third, it is intended to serve our deacons. We hope that this brief synopsis will energize you for your work, convict you of sin, spur you on to love and good deeds, clarify your responsibilities as a deacon of CHBC, and shape your prayer life.

Our Lord gave deacons to local churches to secure unity and foment love. While deacons serve under the elders, they are nevertheless an essential part of the leadership of the local church. Therefore, deacons do well to recall David’s words about authority used well: “The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth” (2 Sam 23:3-4). May God bless your labors as deacons for the glory of his name and the good of the saints at CHBC.

Deacons serve as organizers of the local church’s work and witness, fostering Christ-honoring, loving fellowship within the church and channeling that love toward the world, for God’s glory.

Deacons are biblically qualified men and women (Rom 16:1; Tim 3:8-13), elected to their office by the congregationmembership, and entrusted with the responsibilities described in the subsequent sections. Deacons should earnestly seek to grow in grace, especially in those graces which qualify them for their office (1 Tim 3:8-13). These include:

• Deacons are dignified: Without unduly seeking honor or violating the Lord’s warnings about good deeds done publicly (Matt 6:1-24), deacons should be worthy of honor. That is, their faith, love, and good works should be known to their Christian community.
• Deacons are not double-tongued: Deacons should have integrity, especially with respect to their speech. They should not speak as people-pleasers or liars, saying one thing to one person while saying the opposite to another. They should not encourage gossip or the spread of lies but should aim to speak the truth in love in all circumstances (Eph 4:15).
• Deacons are not addicted to much wine: Deacons should not be irresponsible with intoxicating substances. They should exercise self-control in whatever they choose to consume (Eph 5:18; 1 Tim 4:3-4).
• Deacons are not greedy for dishonest gain: Deacons should not love money (Matt 6:19-24; 1 Tim 6:2-10). They should not seek advantage through their position of leadership, especially monetary advantage. They should be above reproach in their handling of the church’s funds, and their own.\
• Deacons hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience: Deacons should not have beleaguering doubts about the veracity of the Christian faith. Rather, in the essentials, they should be confident and constant (Col 1:23): God has spoken, so we believe.
• Deacons are not slanderers: Deacons must not use their words to demean others or gossip, especially within the church. They should seek to build up and encourage with their words, not tear down. They should never compromise the truth (Eph 4:17–5:21).
• Deacons are sober-minded: Deacons should be self-controlled, watchful, and prepared for suffering. They should have a realistic view of the days in which we live—the Church will suffer; Satan seeks to devour the people of God; Christ will soon return. This view of the world should affect their conduct. (For more, see 2 Tim 4:5; Tit 2:2; 1 Pet 1:13, 4:7, 5:8.).
• Deacons are faithful in all things: Deacons should do all things with integrity, in the presence of God, as unto the Lord and not to men, because they are serving the Lord Christ (Col 3:22-24).
• A deacon is the husband of one wife: Deacons should exemplify chastity. If they are married, they should be faithful to their spouse, repudiating all forms of sexual immorality. If they are not married, they should not engage in any sexual behaviors that would displease the Lord or dishonor his name.
• Deacons manage their children and their households well: Deacons should not become consumed by their duties at church. Their primary responsibilities are their families. Their actions should demonstrate the priority of their care for their families to all other responsibilities.

Although the Bible does not contain a systematic job description for deacons, it says enough about what deacons did in the apostolic church to guide us today, especially in Acts 6:1-7. We can infer from this text that deacons have three areas of responsibility.

1. Deacons serve tables (serve the material needs of the body) (v. 2): They ensure that the material needs[1] of the church are met. They do so not in place of the members, but along with the members, whose labors and gifts are necessary for the care of the church. So, deacons also organize and facilitate the service of the members to one another.
2. Deacons preserve unity (v. 1). Especially through their efforts to meet the congregation’s material needs, deacons are zealous for the unity of the church. They work to secure and promote the love of the members for one another.
3. Deacons extend the ministry of the elders (v. 7). The effect of faithful diaconal ministry is powerful preaching of the gospel leading to conversions and renewal, under God’s blessing. Deacons should support and encourage their elders, champion their elders’ leadership, and streamline their elders’ duties.

[1] In describing elders’ and deacons’ responsibilities, we will use the words “spiritual” and “material,” respectively. These words should not be taken to imply a hierarchy, as in “very important” and “not important,” nor should they be taken to imply dualism, as in “that which matters” and “that which is evil.” Rather, they should be taken in the way that Paul uses them in 1 Cor 9:11: “If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?” He is describing his right to earn money for preaching the gospel. He has sown “spiritual things,” namely, the word of God. The “material things” he has a right to reap are the provisions necessary for his physical life. This distinction captures the difference between elders’ and deacons’ domains of labor: elders serve the word of God; deacons serve tables. That said, the work of elders and deacons serves spiritual ends: the glory of God in the edification of the church.

• Finances: Deacons oversee the church's annual budget process, oversee the church’s giving throughout the year, and perform monthly finance assessments. They review benevolence requests and apportion the benevolence fund according to the congregation’s needs. They oversee salary surveys and work with Human Resources team to determine appropriate compensation for the staff. They oversee and address matters pertaining to human resources, such as the personnel manual and end of employment documents.
• Facilities: Deacons attend to the accommodations of public worship, including ushering, overseeing the collection of the offering, preparing the elements for communion, and serving as Sunday service supervisors. They work in conjunction with the Facilities Director to ensure that the building is suitable for public worship and weekly functions. Deacons participate in the planning and execution of events hosted by the church such as memorial services and funerals.
• Organizing the Ministry of the Members: With attention to the needs of the congregation and community, deacons foster and encourage members’ private ministries, offering equipping and church resources (when appropriate).
• System of Care: Deacons are primarily responsible for the material aspect of the parish-centered system of care. Deacons build relationships with members in their assigned parish(es), working alongside Life Group leaders and others in their parish, discern needs for spiritual or material care in conjunction with the elders, organize provision for material needs, and mobilize parish members to serve each other. Deacons’ care for “material needs” can be summarized in two categories: (1) relational care, including knowing and being known by fellow parish members and cultivating community among parish members; and (2) tangible care, including meeting the needs of the sick, sorrowing, aged, and infirm members of their parishes. 
• Other Duties: Deacons spearhead care and encouragement for the CHBC staff. They also nominate candidates for the deacon office and recommend them to the elders.

• System of Care: Through the deacons’ care ministry and their interactions with individuals and families in our parishes, they seek to promote the unity of the body and love for one another.
• Building Relationships: Deacons endeavor to be familiar with our members to discern needs, promote unity, and otherwise love the brothers and sisters.
• Address Causes of Division: In general, deacons identify sources of division in the body and, under the elders’ guidance, take measures to secure unity.

• Sacraments: Deacons ensure that the sacramental elements are prepared and available for their administration.
• Congregational Meetings: Deacons serve at congregational meetings by watching ballot boxes, counting votes, and serving in other ways that the elders deem necessary.
• Other Needs: Deacons should seek out responsibilities that are not described here but that would help the elders to serve joyfully and freely. They should seek to connect their ministry of care and unity to the ministry of the word, observing how their service fosters the propagation of the gospel.

1. Confess how you have walked contrary to the qualifications for deacons. Ask God to help you put your sins to death by the Spirit (Rom 8:13). Ask him to give you the virtues described in the qualifications in greater measure.
2. Pray for your elders, that the Lord would glorify his name and build up our church because of their labors.
3. Ask God to provide for our church’s material needs through financial generosity and offerings of time and ability.
4. Pray for your fellow members, that they would abound in good works and love toward one another.

1. Ask God to help them put their sins to death by the Spirit (Rom 8:13). Ask him to give them the virtues described in 1 Timothy 3:8-13 in greater measure.
2. Pray that the Lord would encourage them in their ministry, making all grace abound to them so that they may be equipped for every good work (2 Cor 9:6-15).
3. Pray that they would abound in the work of the Lord (1 Cor 15:58), especially in their biblically defined responsibilities of serving tables, fostering unity, and supporting the elders.

If you have any questions, contact Roger Brooks (Deacon Co-Chair) and/or Mark LoPresti (Deacon Co-Chair).