Commissioning and Ordination Requirements

Below you will find the instructions for requesting provisional or full member relationship.

Commissioning (becoming a provisional member)

Prerequisites

Here are the prerequisites to be completed by the time of the annual conference session in which you will be commissioned.

  1. Candidate has maintained certified candidate relationship for at least one year and no more than 12 years.
  2. Candidate has completed college.
  3. Candidate has completed graduate degree work minimums as indicated below:
    1. ELDER: A candidate for commissioning as an elder shall have completed one half of the studies toward a Master of Divinity degree or its equivalent, including one half of the basic graduate theological studies* from a United Methodist seminary or one listed by the University Senate (2016 Book of Discipline ¶324.4a, b).
    2. DEACON: A candidate for commissioning as a deacon shall either: 1) have completed one half of the studies toward a master’s degree from a United Methodist seminary or one listed by the University Senate, OR 2) have received a master’s degree in the area of the specialized ministry in which the candidate will serve and have completed one half of the basic graduate theological studies* (2016 Book of Discipline ¶324.4a and c).

*Basic theological studies include: Old Testament; New Testament; theology; church history; mission of the church in the world; evangelism, worship/liturgy; and United Methodist doctrine, polity and history.

Steps in the commissioning process

Once you have met all the prerequisites in the section above, and are ready to request provisional relationship, please submit the Candidate Application for Clergy Relationship.

Then, continue to follow the process outlined in this Commissioning/Provisional Membership Requirements document.  Most items have a deadline of the beginning of December the year before you will be commissioned. Feel free to download and/or print this document for your own reference.

Ordination (becoming a full member)

Prerequisites

Once you have been a provisional member for at least two years, you will start the process of becoming a full member. Here are the prerequisites to be completed by the time of the annual conference session in which you will be ordained (become a full member) in the Minnesota Conference.

Elder candidate:

  1. Candidate has maintained provisional relationship for at least two years.
  2. Candidate has served in an appointed ministry setting for a minimum of two years (full-time equivalent) following completion of educational requirements listed in The Book of Discipline (typically seminary graduation, BOD ¶ 335.3.a,b,c,d).

Deacon candidate:

  1. Candidate has maintained provisional relationship for at least two years.
  2. If appointed three-quarter or full time, has served in an appointed ministry setting (salaried or non-salaried) for a minimum of two years following completion of education requirements listed in The Book of Discipline (BOD ¶ 330.3).
    If appointed or one-quarter or half-time, has served in an appointed ministry setting (salaried or non-salaried) for a minimum of three years following completion of education requirements listed in The Book of Discipline (BOD ¶ 330.3)

Steps in the ordination process

Once you have met all the prerequisites in the section above, and are ready to request full member relationship, please submit the Candidate Application for Clergy Relationship.

Then, continue to follow the process outlined in this Ordination/Full Membership Requirements document. Most items have a deadline of the beginning of December the year before you will be ordained. You can download and/or print this document for your own reference.

Making Disciples Project (Due Oct. 1)

Site Visit (Scheduled in Oct/Nov)

Helpful guidelines/Forms

For both the commissioning and the ordination process, refer to these guidelines when completing your requirements. Graduate school level writing is expected.

Contact

Janet Beard – Minnesota Conference registrar
janet.beard@minnesotaumc.org / 612-230-6156

Board of Ordained Ministry Chair and Vice Chair
bom@minnesotaumc.org

Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church

122 West Franklin Avenue, Suite 400 Minneapolis, MN 55404

info@minnesotaumc.org

(612) 870-0058