Deacons / Diakoni

Deacons are essential to a church's health-yet confusion abounds regarding their biblical job description. What's their God-given role in a local congregation and how do they relate to the church's overall mission?
In this short book, Matt Smethurst makes the case that deacons are model servants called to meet tangible needs, organize and mobilize acts of service, preserve the unity of the flock, and support the ministry of the elders. Clearing away common misconceptions, Smethurst offers practical guidance for deploying deacons and helping churches to flourish.

Matt Smethurst is managing editor of The Gospel Coalition and author of Deacons: How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Crossway, 2021) and Before You Open Your Bible: Nine Heart Postures for Approaching God's Word (10ofThose, 2019). He has served as an elder of Third Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville, and he is now in the process of planting River City Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia. You can find him on Twitter at @MattSmethurst.