Prepared by the Task Force for a Joint Candidacy Process to test the features of the inquiry phase of the Preparation for Ministry process.
The preparation process requires that Committees on Preparation for Ministry, because of their pivotal role, be well prepared, committed and effective. Presbyteries will need to give added attention and support to their committees to enable them to do the important work assigned and outlined for them by the Constitution.
Provides for the appointment of an elder (or a group of persons including at least one elder) to act as liaison with the inquirer/candidate and the presbytery’s Committee on Preparation for Ministry and to participate with the inquirer/candidate and the presbytery’s committee as they explore and evaluate his or her progress in the preparation for ministry.
A listing of compiled questions and answers to assist Committee on Preparation for Ministry moderators and presbytery staff.
Outline of the steps/phases in the Preparation for Ministry process from inquiry to ordination.
Suggestions and observations about the interview process, particularly for those who may be new to it.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) continues to seek highly qualified inquirers and candidates for the ministry of Word and Sacrament. This is a clarification tool used to determine if an inquirer/ candidate has the specific qualities needed to become an effective minister.
The purpose of this resource is to assist Committees on Preparation for Ministry to be able to identify and determine competency criteria for ordination, to establish indicators of competence for inquirers and candidates at the major stages of the process, to decide what resources outside the presbytery will be used to determine the competency and to identify sources of information for determining the competency of inquirers and candidates in the covenant relationship with that presbytery.
Establishing and maintaining a relationship between an inquirers and candidates and a Committee on Preparation for Ministry through the use of covenants depends on two basic assumptions about the preparation for ministry process. The first is that inquirer or candidate grows and develops as a person with skills for ministry during the period of inquiry/candidacy. The second is that it is the business of the Committee on Preparation for Ministry to be deliberately and creatively involved in fostering that growth.
Identifies six crucial qualities for persons in ministry, elaborates on the elements of each quality and identifies ways to develop and strengthen each quality.