Candidacy Process NC Annual Conference What steps do

Candidacy Process NC Annual Conference What steps do candidates take before District Committee meets them?

I think God is calling me to ordained/licensed ministry…

Now what?

Discerning a call to ministry • Discernment… in community • Outward validation of an inward call

Discerning a call to ministry • Licensed Local Pastor – Licensed but not ordained, preach, lead worship and preside over sacraments • Elder – Ordained to Word, Service, Sacraments, and Order within the local church • Deacon – Ordained to Word, Service, Compassion, and Justice as bridge from church to the world

Initial Candidacy Steps • 1 year member of United Methodist Church or UM affiliated group • Read The Christian as Minister with an ordained clergyperson • Submit call statement to the Office of Ministerial Relations (OMR) and copy the District Superintendent • OMR will respond to the candidate with forms to be completed, including Candidacy Retreat registration form

First Steps (prior to Candidacy Retreat): ● Must be a member of a United Methodist church or UM affiliated group (such as campus ministry) for at least one year prior to starting candidacy ● Read The Christian As Minister and discuss with pastor or another ordained clergyperson. ● Candidate submits a letter to District Superintendent, indicating that he/she has read and discussed CAM, request entrance into candidacy process and include a written statement of call.

First Steps, continued: ● After DS has reviewed statement she/he will email statement of call and contact the Office of Ministerial Relations, indicating that the candidate can move forward in the process. ● The Office of Ministerial Relations contacts candidate and sends the following forms: ● Candidacy Retreat application ● Background Check ● Disclosure Form ● After receiving the completed forms, the OMR will enroll candidate in the GBHEM system. The system will prompt him/her to fill out “Candidacy Application Form, ”(Form 101) and the “Online Candidacy Payment/Guidebook Request, ” and pay $45 to receive the Candidacy Guidebook.

Candidacy Retreat: ● After turning in the Candidacy Retreat application, background check and disclosure forms, candidate will be registered for the Candidacy Retreat. ● This event will be offered twice a year, in JULY and NOVEMBER. (Just not 2020 because this year is BANANAS!) ● It is intended as a time for candidates to learn together what ordained/licensed ministry looks like in the United Methodist Church and the NC Annual Conference, and to discern how God is calling them to serve.

What to Expect at the Retreat: ● Worship and space for reflection ● Opportunity to meet District Superintendents and members of the Board of Ordained Ministry. ● Overview of ways to serve in the church: Elder, Deacon, Licensed Local Pastor ● Time to complete Psychological Evaluation ● Time to meet with mentoring group and complete two of the six required mentoring sessions (Introductions & Calling; Spiritual Disciplines)

After the retreat ● Meet one-on-one with Conference psychologist to review psychological evaluation ● Meet with mentoring group (Zoom if necessary) to complete remaining 4 sessions of mentoring. ● Wesleyan Way of Calling: Grace ● Wesleyan Way of Calling: Gifts ● Wesleyan Way of Calling: Fruit ● Ministry Tracks & Next Steps l ● Complete physica

SPRC/PPRC & Charge Conference Interviews ● Candidates may request an interview with their PPRC/SPRC before or after the retreat/mentoring is completed. Approval of SPRC/PPRC and Charge Conference allows makes students eligible for MEF monies. ● SPRC/PPRC Interview: Candidate will submit a copy of his/her call statement prior to interview. This body will be asked to consider the call statement and to evaluate the candidate based (in part) on Wesley’s historic questions. ● Candidate requests a meeting with the Charge Conference at his/her church. Approval of the candidate must be by two thirds written ballot, and the candidate shall have been graduated from an accredited high school or received a certificate of equivalency.

Interview with District Committee on Ordained Ministry (DCOM) ● ● ● If the candidate is approved by her SPRC/PPRC and Charge Conference, has attended the candidacy retreat, completed mentoring, undergone psych evaluation, completed necessary paperwork, she is ready to request an interview with the DCOM. In order to do so, candidate will email request to District Superintendent, and DCOM chairperson, indicating his desire to seek status as certified candidate. In addition to requirements listed above, candidate will submit written responses to the following questions: (i) the most formative experience of their Christian life; (ii) God’s call to licensed or ordained ministry and role of the church in their call; (iii) their beliefs as a Christian; (iv) their gifts for ministry; (v) their present understanding of their call to ministry as elder, deacon, or licensed ministry; and (vi) their support system. (BOD, paragraph 311. 2 a)

Candidate’s File ● How to access ● ● Google docs What will you find? ● Call statement ● Form 102: Personal Data Inventory ● Notarized statement ● Background check ● Credit Report ● Psychological evaluation summary

Following d. COM interview • Begin working on educational requirements for ministerial leadership • Licensed Local Pastor track – enrolled in licensing school, receive an appointment should one be available • Ordination track – begin seminary, work toward provisional membership and commissioning (what is commissioning? )

Seeking Commissioning and Ordination • Qualifications for February Provisional Interviews – Certified Candidate for One year – Complete educational requirements for ordination by December: worship, preaching (Elder), teaching (Deacon), United Methodist History, Doctrine and Polity, evangelism, and mission – Must be graduating from seminary that year, already graduated, or completed Basic COS and Advanced COS

d. COM August Interview • Eligible candidates submit written work to OMR • 5 pages of reflection upon call to ordained ministry and understanding of traditional evangelical doctrines (e. g. , repentance, justification) • d. COM assesses readiness for interview with BOM

Days of Discernment • If approved by d. COM, candidates submit 1520 pages of written work according to prompts, reflecting on call to ordained ministry, servant leadership, tithing • PREVIOUSLY – Held at Edenton St. - Time for candidates to meet discernment team leaders, share in worship, lunch, and complete interview

Provisional Membership Paperwork • 4 sections: Leadership, Call and Disciplined Life, Worship, and Theology • Candidates to preach and lead a worship service, record the video and upload to You. Tube • Create and lead an original Bible study, evaluate in written form only • Written work due early January

Provisional Membership Interviews • Approx. 2 hour interview with discernment team covering ALL topics • If approved, recommended to the clergy session of Annual Conference for provisional membership and commissioning • Commissioned at Annual Conference in Ordering of Ministry service • Not recommended – candidates return to d. COM following August, receive feedback from discernment team

Provisional Membership • Pastoral Abilities as Commissioned Elder or Deacon – License for ministry – Provisional Elders preside over sacraments and may officiate weddings at their ministry setting to which they are appointed – Provisional Deacons may officiate weddings at their ministry setting to which they are appointed

Provisional Membership • Continuation Interview – held each spring until ready for Full Connection interview • Residency in Ordained Ministry (RIOM) – Mentoring Groups – Individual Coaching – Mission Immersion experience – Fruitful Leadership Project

Full Connection Interview • Provisional members serve at least two years full time in order to seek Full Connection membership and Ordination • If the candidate will have two years of full-time service in June, he/she is eligible to submit papers for the spring interview of that same year • Similar writing prompts to provisional membership papers – 4 sections + recorded sermon and worship service; recorded Bible study

Full Connection Interview • “How has the practice of ministry affected your experience and understanding of …? ” – Images, experiences, relationships • Board of Ordained Ministry discernment teams looking for evidence of fruitful leadership • Papers submitted mid-February, interviews held late March • Site visit • Mock interview prep

Full Connection and Ordination • If approved – Gather at Clergy Session for approval, respond to questions of Bishop – Ordained at Ordering of Ministry service

Questions?