Are Women Allowed to Be Deaconesses, Ushers or Bishops in the Church?
1) Direct answer
No. Women are not to serve as bishops or deacons, and “deaconess” as an office over the church is not Scriptural. Ushers are not a Bible office, but the work of keeping order and directing the assembly belongs under the deacons’ oversight and should be handled by qualified men. Sisters may serve in helps that do not place them in authority over men.
2) Scriptural explanation
- The Bible says, “I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man; but to be in silence” (1 Timothy 2:11–12). Church offices carry authority over men; therefore they are not given to women.
- For a bishop/elder: “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife… one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection” (1 Timothy 3:1–5; Titus 1:5–9). That language fixes the office to a man.
- For deacons: “Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well” (1 Timothy 3:8–13). Again, male headship is required.
- The church chose “seven men of honest report” to serve the tables and keep the order of the work (Acts 6:3). That’s the pattern for deacon-type service.
- In the assembly, “Let your women keep silence in the churches” (1 Corinthians 14:34–35). That forbids public authoritative leadership over men in worship.
3) Simple clarifying logic
- Now notice: a bishop must be the husband of one wife and must rule his house. How could that be a woman? It cannot.
- A deacon must rule his house and be a husband of one wife. That sets the office to a man.
- Ushers function under the deacons to keep order and direct the congregation. Since Scripture assigns that kind of oversight to men, ushering in the sanctuary ought to be carried by men as part of that deacon-led service.
- This does not make women secondary in value, but it keeps God’s order. Sisters are called to powerful ministry in their God-given sphere: prayer, testimony, music, hospitality, visiting the sick, helping the needy, teaching children, and older women teaching younger women (Titus 2:3–5)—all without exercising authority over men.
4) Reinforcing statement
It’s not culture; it’s Bible order. One God set one pattern: male headship in church offices, with women richly active in every good work that does not place them over men.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Earnestly contending for the faith once delivered
53-0614A §67
But let me tell you, the church of God is led by the Spirit of God. They move as the Spirit moves them. God didn't promise just to move with bishops. Elders is what's the head of the church. Every church. Now, God sends a message, He'd send it to His elders. But if He has to go out and see what the bishop says and what the district presbyter says ... And everybody in the church is pulling to get a feather in your hat. "Maybe I can be the district man next year if I pull a few tricks here, a few there." Brother, I d...
A True Sign that's overlooked
61-1112 §78
...Paul up there in prison, a little hook nosed Jew, bald headed, laying up there, spending twenty years in a Roman prison. He wrote these letters. Now, what do you think the women preachers thought about Paul when he said, "Let them women keep silent in churches. I don't permit them to speak"? I imagine they could've really worked on him. What do you think them bishops thought, them bishops, when he said all these different things? "Quit this here stuff, and this here, all this, that..." "Paul---tell me, who is this...
Hear ye Him
60-0712 §39
So, notice. Now, when this son was ... begin to come to school age, this tutor would go with this son, and stay with him, and bring message to the father how the son was progressing. If the son was dilatory, not about the father's business, then how that tutor must be ashamed to walk up in the face of the father and say, "Sir, I'm sorry to say, but your son is not doing too well. He just won't ... he won't learn; he doesn't care." Well then, God, when He left the earth here, His church, He selected a tutor for His...
Church Ages, part 3: The Ephesian Church Age
60-1205 §126
Oh, to that great age, of the Ephesian age, when this heresy just begin to creep in to make organizations, and pastors and deacons ... or not deacons, but pastor ... not pastors, but cardinals, bishops, popes, overseers of the church, telling the Holy Spirit, telling the church, "Now you cannot have that in here." Who's the boss anyhow? Peter was asked that one time. Said, "You can't preach any more in Jesus' name. You can preach if you want to, but not in Jesus' name." Oh, the devil hates that name. Peter said, "I...
Hebrews, Chapters 5 and 6, part 1
57-0908M §12
So when Paul... God chose Paul. Man chose Matthias. They cast the lots, but he never did nothing. That shows what a power the church has then, to make a choice, to elect their deacons, and send their preachers to different places. That's carnal many times. Let a man go where God leads him to go. I like that. If the people in a conference just say, "Well, here's a nice church. This brother's built up a nice church." And they have a little pet; they'll send him over to this church. They don't realize they're killing...