Who can administer communion? Where can we take communion?

from the old testament

• The Old Testament does not specify who can administer communion and where it can be taken.

from the new testament

• Jesus instituted communion at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:26–29; Luke 22:19–20) but did not state rules as to who can administer it or where it should be done. This means Christians must take care not to add requirements that Scripture does not add. However, we can infer general guidance that helps believers decide both points.
• Paul assumed that communion was when the church gathered. Chiding the believers for misusing communion, he opened by saying, “But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse” and “When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat [because you do it for selfish reasons]” (1 Corinthians 11:17–22). We can deduce, then, that in the first century, communion was commonly celebrated in church settings.
• Additionally, the word “communion” implies fellowship. Of it Paul said rhetorically, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:16–17). Thus, communion is showing unity with Christ and one another, which implies taking it with one another.
• Regarding administration, none of the passages about communion name specific individuals who can do it. However, the New Testament teaches that God gave specific men, known as elders and deacons, for the purpose of leading and serving the church (1 Timothy 3:1–13). Because communion was expected to be taken as a church body, in union, it’s logical that those same leaders would also lead its administration.
• Note that despite its importance, Scripture doesn’t define how it’s to be done. This implies that its meaning, not its form, matters most. Thus, Christians have long reached different conclusions about both location and administration while still keeping its meaning: remembering what Jesus did.

implications for today

Communion is what we call an “ordinance” of the church. Along with baptism, the church’s other ordinance, the church is expected to practice communion. However, as this article notes, Scripture provides very few firm “rules” for communion. Instead, based on inferences and historical descriptions, we can say it’s intended for the gathering of a church and done by a mature believer who can both understand and explain the reason for it.

However, the lack of further specification is why churches vary greatly on “when, where, how, and who” when it comes to communion. There are several ways to do so while remaining faithful to Jesus’ intention. Believers, then, must be charitable toward other views while also being confident that their practice focuses on its purpose: remembering Jesus’ death, which brought our salvation.

Regardless of whether we disagree with how another church does it, let us all strive to keep communion as the means of unity it was designed to be, so that it doesn’t become a source of division!