(Church Order Article 6)
Article 6 of the CRC Church Order describes the route or ordination as a Minister of the Word that involves attending seminary and earning a Master of Divinity Degree. The following section describes some of the steps that may occur in the process leading up to enrolling in seminary. Note that some of these steps are recommended, but not currently required (see checklist on p 18). The basic requirement for entry into ordained ministry in the CRC is earning a Master of Divinity degree and completing the CRC EPMC program.
Below you will see a description of the process leading to seminary and enrollment in the CRC candidacy program, followed by a summary “Flow Chart” and a “Ministry Readiness Profile” Check-list for Article 6 candidates. The profile offers concrete steps that may be taken coordinate with earning the Master of Divinity degree. Some classes and individuals have begun to make use of this process and are hopefully finding it helpful in establishing a meaningful relationship between the student and the church.
A. Calling
- The individual experiences a sense of internal calling from the Lord to serve in vocational ministry. This calling is informally confirmed by others, likely including the individual’s pastor, council, and family. As the individual anticipates beginning his or her seminary studies, the council directs the individual to make inquiry to the CMLT and/or the Candidacy Committee concerning the process of ministry formation and preparation.
B. Inquiry Stage
- The CMLT and the Candidacy Committee offer the interested individual encouragement, answer their questions, and outline the necessary steps for pursuing ministry under the provisions of Church Order Article 6. They also ensure the individual has access to all the necessary documents to welcome and orient the potential student to the process of ministry preparation.
C. Affirmation and Support of Council
- The individual completes a Candidate’s Application to Council Form, and then approaches his or her council to seek their official affirmation to begin preparing for the office of Minister of the Word.
- Council interviews the individual, completes a Council Recommendation Form, and forwards the form to the Classis Ministerial Leadership Team (CMLT). Along with their recommendation, they also forward to the CMLT the individual’s Application to Council (including his or her Autobiography and Personal Statement of Faith).
Note: For a council to endorse an individual to prepare for ministry under the provisions of Church Order Article 6, the individual has to have been a member of the CRC for a minimum of one year and had opportunity to demonstrate his or her giftedness for ministry.
- The council inquires about the student’s financial needs and considers ways the congregation may be able to assist.
D. CMLT Interview and the Preparation of Study and Financial Plans
- The individual appears before the Classis Ministerial Leadership Team (CMLT), or its designated committee, for a personal interview.
- If, as a result of this interview the individual is endorsed, then the individual will draft a Study Plan which he or she will review with the CMLT. This plan will indicate where the individual intends to study and how long they intend to take to complete their degree.
- The individual will also draft a Financial Plan indicating how he or she intends to finance their education. This plan, also to be reviewed with the CMLT, will likely include several sources of funding, including: prior savings, part-time work, loans, grants, family assistance, spousal income, classical or congregational aid, scholarships, and bursaries.
- The CMLT completes a Classis Recommendation Form and forwards this form, along with the Study and Financial Plans, the CMLT Recommendation, and the individual’s Application to Council (including his or her Autobiography and Personal Statement of Faith) to the Candidacy Committee.
E. Admission to the Candidacy Process
- The Candidacy Committee reviews all documents, and endorses the individual’s Study and Financial Plans. The Candidacy Committee may suggest additional changes to the plans before they provide their endorsement. Once the plans are endorsed, the Candidacy Committee admits the individual to the candidacy process and communicates their decision in writing to both the individual and the CMLT.
- The Candidacy Committee, CMLT, and Church Council encourage the prospective student to enroll in seminary, and in the EPMC, which is required of students attending seminaries other than CTS.
Note: Those who study at other seminaries are encouraged to enroll in the EPMC as soon as possible after beginning an M. Div program, preferably after their first semester in seminary.
F. The Ministry Preparation Phase
- The CMLT, in consultation with the individual, ensures that individuals enrolled in seminaries other than CTS have a suitable mentor (students at CTS are assigned a mentor as part of their program). It is recommended and preferred that this mentoring relationship be with a CRC pastor, although in certain circumstances it may be appropriate to establish this relationship with someone else.
- As the individual’s studies begin, his or her council will maintain contact and show active and ongoing interest in the student’s progress throughout the entire ministry preparation process. This may involve written communication and (where possible) personal contacts. The council should also provide ministry opportunities for the student within the congregation, including the opportunity to exhort once the student is licensed (where feasible).
- The CMLT will also maintain contact with the student throughout their studies, showing an active and ongoing interest in the student’s development. The CMLT provides financial assistance, encouragement, guidance, and accountability, also ensuring that the student is a member of a congregation where they are receiving spiritual support.
- The CMLT also assists students with the preparation of their Ministry Readiness Profile and tracks the student’s progress toward meeting the requirements inherent in the profile. In the case of students attending Calvin Theological Seminary (CTS), and for those pre-enrolled in the Ecclesiastical Program for Ministerial Candidacy (EPMC), the CTS staff and faculty will also assist in ensuring the Ministry Readiness Profile requirements are completed at the appropriate times. At set points throughout the student’s preparation, an evaluated psychological report will be completed, and a criminal background check conducted. The individual will also be asked to make full disclosure of any acts of official discipline, criminal charges, or ecclesiastical complaint.
- After having received a recommendation from the CTS faculty committee, the Candidacy Committee will grant the student licensure to exhort.
- Where there are changes to the student’s Financial Plan or Study Plan, the CMLT endorses these changes and notifies the Candidacy Committee. The Candidacy Committee may also initiate suggested changes to the original plan. The Candidacy Committee, the CMLT, and the student should communicate in writing to one another any plan revisions.
- For students studying at seminaries other than CTS, completion of the EPMC program is required. This program provides an introduction to Reformed hermeneutics, CRC Church Polity, CRC Church History, and other courses that may not be available elsewhere. Students should enroll in the EPMC program as early as possible in their seminary studies.
- At fitting points in the student’s academic journey, the individual’s classis finds appropriate means for celebrating and giving thanks to God for his provision of faithful and gifted leadership for his church.
G. The Candidacy Stage
- At the conclusion of the M. Div program and the completion of the EPMC, the Candidacy Committee interviews the individual and recommends him/her to synod as a candidate for Minister of the Word in the CRC.
- Synod declares the individual a candidate for the Minister of the Word in the CRC and the student is then eligible for call.
- Upon receiving and accepting a call for ministry in the CRC, the student will be examined by the classis in which the call has been given, according to the regulations of CRC Church Order Article 10.
Note: Where necessary, a CMLT may make arrangements with other classes or congregations nearer to the school the student attends to fulfill some or all of their above mentioned responsibilities.
The Journey to Ordination: Article Six (Flow Chart)
CALLING
INQUIRY STAGE: SMCC
AFFIRMATION AND SUPPORT OF COUNCIL
CMLT INTERVIEW
AND THE PREPARATION OF STUDY AND FINANCIAL PLANS
ADMISSION TO THE CANDIDACY PROCESS
MINISTRY PREPARATION PHASE
THE CANDIDACY STAGE
“Ministry Readiness Profile”: Article Six
(Items to be gathered in the portfolio for each seminary student)
____ Candidate’s Application to Council (Recommended – see tool kit p. 35) (Including an Autobiography and Personal Statement of Faith)
____ Council Recommendation Form (Recommended – see tool kit p. 37)
____ CMLT Recommendation Form (including Financial Plan) (Recommended – see tool kit p. 39)
____ Candidacy Committee Endorsement to Enter Candidacy Process (Recommended) (obtained by CMLT communicating with the Candidacy Committee)
____ M. Div Degree from Calvin Theological Seminary (CTS) (includes EPMC) OR M. Div Degree from another seminary combined with the completion of the EPMC. (Required)
(Note: Application to CTS for either the M.Div. Program or the EPMC can be made by contacting Rev. Greg Janke, Director of Admissions: gregjanke@calvinseminary.edu; ph. 616-957-7035) (Note also the EPMC Checklist in the tool kit, p. 41)
____ Candidacy Committee Interview and Endorsement
____ Synodical Declaration of Candidacy
____ Classis Examination
