Ordination Process Team

Katrina Wilkins
  • Director of Ministerial Credentialing & Assistant to the Superintendent
Cindi Newman
  • Chair - Ministerial Education and Guidance Board

Discerning a Call...

Do you feel God is stirring? Do you wonder what it would be like to be in vocational ministry? Do you love the Lord and His word and want to make a difference? We'd love to start a discernment journey with you. 

One of the strengths of the Free Methodist Church is that the path toward ordination is a communal discernment process. This means that a person who believes they are called into vocational ministry is surrounded by a community that can affirm those gifts and graces or help to discern a different path. Either way, we're in this together!

So where do I start?

At the beginning of this process of discovery and discernment, the local church pastor and board function as the primary connection point for conversation and opportunity. The Conference MEG (Ministerial Education and Guidance) Board and Director of Ministerial Credentialing will also be introduced to you and your interest in ministry. This process is called Local Ministerial Candidacy (LMC). 

To make your local ministerial candidacy official:

1.  Meet with your pastor and local church board for their approval.
2. Ask your pastor to connect you to the Genesis Dir. of Credentialing, and we'll talk through next steps. 

(If you're sensing a call but your pastor or board does not see what you see, reach out to the Conference office for a conversation.)

Continue to be in prayer and in community as you use this time to discern your calling.

Please be advised that as an LMC, you will be required to take a Free Methodist History & Polity class. This is offered as an in-person class in Genesis (recommended), at Northeastern Seminary, and online through Central Christian College.  

After you have completed your LMC requirements, you will sign up for an interview (in January) for the MEG board to assess your readiness to become a Conference Ministerial Candidate (CMC)

Links for Getting Started

Here you'll find a number of resources, most of which you will need to access during the ministry candidacy process. Feel free to explore them now.

APEST Assessment

Divorce Clearance Paperwork

LMC License

Qualifications for Pastoral Ministry – Code of Ethics

Spiritual Gifts Inventory

Strengths Finder Assessment

16 Personalities (aka Myers Briggs)

For Conference Ministerial Candidates

Once a person is approved to become a Conference Ministerial Candidate (CMC), the Conference is in touch with the candidate through individual conversations with the Director of Ministerial Credentialing and yearly interviews with the MEG Board.

As a CMC, your next steps are outlined in the Genesis Formation Process for Ministerial Candidates. If you have any questions, please contact Katrina Wilkins. We expect the steps outlined in the brochure to take at least 3 years. 

As you follow the process and get closer to an interview to determine your readiness for ordination, you will need to respond, in writing, to the CMC Theological Proficiency Questions, aka Ordination Essays. These questions are designed to help you and the Conference in the discernment process. 

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Katrina.

Helpful Books & Links for CMCs

Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster

Ordaining Women by BT Roberts

FM Study Commission on Doctrine

God in My Everything by Ken Shigamatzu

Leadership Lab videos

Leadership Lab Worksheet

 

Do you believe you are ready to be ordained or consecrated?

Contact the Genesis office for more information. 

You will need to submit a resumé, a letter of recommendation from your lead pastor or mentor, and the Ordination Essay Questions  (Ordination Essays in Spanish) OR the Consecrated Deacon Essay Questions.

If you are transferring from a different denomination, we will need a copy of your ordination credentials. You will also have to complete a portion of the requirements for Conference Ministerial Candidates prior to transfer (background check, meeting with the MEG, psychological evaluation, classes missed, etc.). Contact the Genesis office for specifics and timelines.