text: The main key is found in Acts 21:8  --\n\n"On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the EVANGELIST, who was one of the SEVEN, and stayed with him."\n\nIn the passage you asked about --Acts 8--  we find Philip sent specifically to declare the good news, that is, to act as an evangelist, calling people to faith.  And that is what happens, and people believe and are baptized.\n\n---------\nThe question is --Was he a "DEACON" ?!\n\nThis is not quite as clearcut as many think.  In Acts 6 and 21 he is referred to as one of "the seven".  The word "deacon" never appears! \n\nThe reason people have taken to calling these men deacons is the WORK they were given to do, and esp. Peter's statement in Acts 6:2 - "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables." The word "serve" here is diakonia.  But in fact the Greek words used are often very general "diakonia" = "service" and "diakonos" = "servant".  They do NOT always refer to the more specific "office of deacon" that we find later on (in Paul's epistles).\n\nIf you look at how "the seven" where chosen in Acts 6, and their subsequent ministry, it is clear they did more than oversee the "ministry of mercy" or finances associated with the special office of deacon in the church.   Rather, these were known leaders of the Greek-speaking (Jewish) Christian community.  So it's not surprising to find Stephen preaching (Acts 7) and Philip evanglizing (Acts 8).  (For that matter, the picture of Acts as a whole seems to be that PAUL takes up the work of Stephen!)\n\nIn fact, the Spirit-filled Seven of Acts 6 strongly echoes an Old Testament story (in Numbers 11) of the Seventy ELDERS of Israel who were given the Spirit to help Moses when the people grumbled about the food!   I'm not saying the Seven should be called "elders", just that "deacons" is not necessarily accurate.