The Diaconal Order

The Methodist Diaconal Order (MDO) is a life-long, ordained ministry within the Methodist Church in Britain. Deacons are called to follow Christ in a ministry of service, standing at the meeting point between Church and world, helping God’s people live out their faith in everyday life.

Contents

• Who are Methodist deacons?
• Our mission
• What do deacons do?
• The MDO as a religious order
• The MDO as an order of ministry
• Are you called to be a deacon?
• Discover more
• MDO members

Who are Methodist deacons?

The Methodist Diaconal Order is both:

• an Order of Ministry, and
• a Religious Order

This means deacons are ordained to a permanent ministry and also belong to a dispersed, vowed community that lives by a shared Rule of Life. The Order was formed in 1989 as the successor to the Wesley Deaconess Order and is open to people of all genders.

Deacons are one of the two types of ordained ministers in the Methodist Church, the other being presbyters. Deacons and presbyters are equal but different – offering distinct gifts within the one mission of the Church. Diaconal ministry emphasises witness through service, encouraging the whole Church to model Christ’s servant love.

Diaconal ministry offers a distinctive pathway of ministry focused on nurturing community, enabling others in their discipleship and helping the Church live out its calling to be a sign of God’s hope in the world.

Our mission

Remember your call. Support the weak, bind up the broken,

gather in the outcast, welcome the stranger, seek the lost.

So minister care that you make glad those whom you help in their need.

Let the concerns and sorrows of others be as your own.

• Intentionally nurture, encourage and build community.
• Discern and relate to the needs of the community in which we live and work; and those we minister to and serve faithfully with patience and understanding.
• Minister Christ’s love and compassion.
• Proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ through our words and actions.
• Promote justice and challenge inequality through prayer and action.
• Help those we serve to offer their lives to.

What do deacons do?

Diaconal ministry is incredibly varied. No two appointments are the same, but all are shaped by attentiveness to people, place and context.

A deacon’s work is often:

• people-centred and pastoral
• grounded in worship and prayer
• outward-facing and community-engaged
• collaborative and enabling.

Deacons may lead worship, preach, teach and offer pastoral care, but they are just as likely to be found alongside people in everyday spaces – walking the streets, building relationships, noticing need and helping the Church respond with compassion, justice and hope.

Many deacons work in chaplaincy, community projects, training, youth work or pioneering contexts. Some ministries are highly visible; others take place quietly, one-to-one, or beyond the walls of the Church. In all of this, deacons seek to connect faith with life.

The MDO as a religious order

The Methodist Diaconal Order is a dispersed community. Deacons live all across the British Isles but are bound together by:

• a shared Rule of Life
• a rhythm of prayer, witness and service
• mutual support, accountability and friendship

The Rule of Life offers a framework that helps deacons grow in wholeness and faithfulness, grounding their public ministry in prayer and community. The Order meets annually in Convocation and gathers locally through area groups, sustaining one another in vocation and discipleship.

The MDO as an order of ministry

Diaconal ministry belongs to the whole Church. Deacons are not doing work on behalf of others; rather, they are called to model, integrate and encourage the servant ministry of Christ so that all God’s people are equipped for service.

Deacons have a public, representative role – interpreting to the Church the needs, hopes and struggles of the world, and interpreting God’s love and presence within those realities. Through their ministry, the Church is continually reminded of its calling to serve.

Are you called to be a deacon?

Being a Methodist Deacon is a vocation – a calling from God that is both demanding and deeply life giving.

You may be exploring a call to the diaconate if you recognise in yourself:

• a desire to live out the Gospel through service
• a passion for mercy, justice and inclusion
• a gift for listening, enabling and encouraging others
• a sense of being drawn to stand between Church and world.

Deacons are a focus for the Church’s servant ministry, helping people recognise God’s love at work in everyday acts of care, solidarity and faithfulness. Discernment is a shared journey, and the Church offers guidance, formation and support along the way. Find out more.

Discover more

• Explore the Rule of Life and community of the Order.
• Read deacons’ stories of vocation and ministry and learn more about what deacons do.
• Find out more about discernment and candidating.

Whether you are curious, prayerfully discerning, or simply wanting to understand this ministry better, you are warmly invited to explore the life and calling of the Methodist Diaconal Order.