The Manual

¶822 QUESTIONS FOR CONFERENCE MEMBERSHIP Ministerial candidates may be received as commissioned or ordained ministers after completing the required service and educational requirements. They shall submit the minister’s statement of affirmation. (See ¶872). (These statements shall become the property of the credentialing coordinator.) When candidates are presented to the board […]

¶821 COMMISSIONED MINISTERS BECOMING ORDAINED MINISTERS In order for commissioned ministers to become ordained ministers, they must: be a commissioned minister in good standing; have completed the following prescribed core courses within an accredited and approved (by MEGaP) seminary, college, or directed study program. These minimum credits shall include: –

¶820 COMMISSIONED MINISTERS Commissioned Ministers are persons called by God to provide specialized ministry leadership (examples include but not limited to: Children and Family Pastor, Youth, Community Development Missionary, Social Media, etc.). They do not feel called to provide pastoral leadership to the entire church. They may, under special circumstances,

¶816 SEPARATION, DIVORCE AND THE MINISTRY A person who has been divorced or is married to a spouse previously divorced, shall not be admitted to ministerial candidacy, nor to the conference, nor by transfer, nor allowed to be under any type of appointment unless cleared by the MEGaP committee. (See

¶815 MINISTERIAL CANDIDATES A ministerial candidate is a member of a Free Methodist Church who is seriously pursuing entrance into credentialed ministry, has been granted the status of an honorary member of the conference (with voice but not vote) and is under conference supervision in studies and service. In order

¶810 LAY MINISTERS (TRACKING AND LOCAL) A lay minister is a member of a Free Methodist Church who has been granted a license by the official board. For some lay ministers (tracking), this will be an entry point into the tracking system that ultimately leads to being credentialed either as

¶805 DISCERNING THE CALL OF GOD FOR CREDENTIALED MINISTRY Confirmation of the initial stages of God’s call to credentialed ministry in The Free Methodist Church in Canada begins when the leaders of a local church discern and confirm that call by granting a lay minister’s license to a member of

¶801 ADVICE TO THE MINISTER 1. PERSONAL LIFE DIVINE RESOURCES Trust God. His power gives you all things necessary for life and godliness (II Peter 1:3). He has not given you the spirit of timidity, but of love, power, and a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7). Apart from Him, you

¶800 PREAMBLE It is biblical for the church to set apart particular persons for special tasks of leadership. Such persons bear witness to an inward call of the Holy Spirit and a confirmation of that call by the church. They are set apart by a public commissioning service, or by

CHAPTER 8: THE MINISTRY ¶ 800 Preamble ¶ 801 Advice to the Minister ¶ 805 Discerning the Call of God for Credentialed Ministry ¶ 810 Lay Ministers ¶ 815 Ministerial Candidates ¶ 816 Separation, Divorce and the Ministry ¶ 820 Commissioned Ministers ¶ 821 Commissioned Ministers becoming Ordained Ministers ¶