How to Become a UMC Pastor
The UMC, the United Methodist Church, has an ongoing enrollment for candidacy into its ministry program with opportunities to serve as a local pastor or go on to be a deacon, elder or chaplain. All candidates to become a pastor with the UMC must be theology graduate students or have already graduated and must have been members of the UMC or baptized by another Methodist church for at least a year prior to applying. The application process itself at UMC is drawn out over a period that takes at least a year and is broken down under different levels of candidacy stages that you will pass through with the help of a candidacy mentor.
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Instructions
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You need to contact your pastor or a deacon of the United Methodist Church to begin your candidacy for becoming a pastor. He will recommend that you participate in a Ministry Inquiry Process and read the book "The Christian as Minister."
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You need to apply for formal candidacy by writing the District Supervisor of your area, and include a statement of call. You also need to complete the online application and pay $75 at that time, you will be assigned a candidacy mentor once you have officially applied.
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Request an interview with the Pastoral Relations Committee for your district, respond to the disciplinary questions and begin working with your candidacy mentor. Now you have to request a recommendation by Charge Conference or an equivalent body; your district committee will decide.
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You must agree to make a complete dedication to the ideals of the UMC and Christian life and be examined and approved by the District Committee on Ordained Ministry. You must pass a psychological assessment, a criminal history background check and a credit check. You must also produce a notarized statement saying that you have never been accused of or convicted of a felony, misdemeanor, or any incident of sexual misconduct or child abuse.
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You must continue this candidacy for at least one and not more than 12 years to become a Pastor in the UMC. You need to keep up with all the annual recommendations from the Charge Conference and the annual interviews and approvals by the District Committee.
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To complete your candidacy and become an ordained minister with the UMC, you must produce a health certificate from a licensed doctor and pass both the written and doctrinal oral exam and write and submit an autobiography. Next, you must interview and be recommended both by three-fourths vote of district committee and by the board or ordained ministry. At this point, provided you have kept up your academic studies, you may apply to be a licensed local pastor. Becoming a deacon or elder takes several more years.
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