How to Get Ordained

While legally recognized ordinations used to require years of study, there are now procedures that allow persons to be ordained by various ministries without the need to attend a theological school or under the sponsorship of a particular denomination or faith. While not all offers of ordination found on the Internet are legitimate, there are a number of legally incorporated ministries that do offer ordinations that will provide the legal rights and privileges afforded by many governments to any ordained minister of any faith. Here are some tips on how to find legitimate programs and entities that can grant ordinations.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Check with your own religious denomination. Increasingly, many faiths are utilizing a combination of full time professional ministers and lay ministers who labor in the local congregation. In some cases, lay ministers may undergo a short period of training and become eligible for ordination. Depending on the denomination and its provisions for the function of ordained persons, the newly ordained lay minister may be granted authority to officiate at government recognized marriages as well as administer other religious rites associated with the denomination.
2. Search online for non-denominational ministries that offer ordination. This is often a helpful route for persons who wish to function as a full time minister, but prefer to not be tied to the structure of a particular religious denomination. Many independent ministries have some basic criteria for ordination and require an application. Approval of the application is necessary before the applicant can begin to comply with any terms and conditions that must be met prior to the issuing of a ministerial license. There is often usually some type of training, such as a correspondence course, that must be completed before ministerial credentials will be issued.
3. Pursue the courses of study recommended or required for ordination. This may include attending live classes, taking correspondence courses, attending online lectures or completing various types of written assignments. Often, there is a time frame required for completion of all necessary work, which may range from a few weeks to a year.
4. Follow the final application procedures for ordination. Often, sponsors require that once the applicant has fulfilled all the terms and conditions necessary for ordination, there must be a formal request to be ordained. This step is usually taken shortly after degrees or certificates of completion have been awarded for coursework and participation in seminars, online course or other established criteria.

Tips & Warnings

• Always seek to find a sponsoring organization whose ideals and basic belief system are in harmony with your own. Also, look for organizations that provide ongoing support to their ordinands, such as networking with others in the organization, additional educational and training opportunities and counseling on how to deal with unusual situations that may arise during the course of providing ministry.
• Stay away from ordination mills. These are online sites that offer instant ordinations with no attempt to verify your identity, require that you indicate agreement with the basic beliefs of the organization and offer no type of ongoing education or ministerial training. Often, these types of organizations are not universally recognized by civil authorities as being legitimate religious organizations and thus are not empowered to grant the same privileges afforded to the ministers of established and legally incorporated faiths.