"Deaconesses were included in the official staff of the early Christian churches. “I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church [deaconess] in Cenchrea, that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also” (Rom. 16:1, 2)."

"Deaconesses serve the church in a wide variety of activities, including:

1. Greeting and Visiting Guests and Members

2. Assistance at Baptisms

3. Arrangements for the Communion Service

4. The Care of the Sick and the Poor

5. Care and Maintenance of Property"

- Paraphrased from the Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual, 19th Edition, pgs. 80-81