Licensed Minister A person is recognized as a licensed minister when all the following prerequisites have been satisfied: 1. Completion of the Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Bible or religion, or completion of a Master degree acceptable in the ministerial field;
2. Appointment by the Conference as an intern to a position of ministerial or pastoral responsibility; 3. Election as a church elder in the church(es) to which he is assigned; and 4. Ordination as a local church elder.
Authorized Ministerial Functions A licensed minister is authorized by the Conference to perform substantially all the functions of the ordained minister for the members in the churches or companies to which he is assigned and elected as a church elder, and for the communities he serves. A licensed minister who is employed as an institutional chaplain, and ordained as a church elder, may also perform these functions for persons served by the institution. The functions that are excluded are those listed in the Church Manual as follows: 1. Organizing a church; 2. Uniting churches; and 3. Ordaining local elders and deacons.
A licensed minister may perform wedding ceremonies or baptisms outside of his pastoral district if authorized to do so by the Conference President. If the ceremony is to be conducted in the territory of another conference it will require the approval of both conference presidents.
Annual Review The leadership progress, professional development and spiritual growth of a licensed minister will be reviewed annually by the Conference.
Authorization Withdrawn A licensed minister's authorization to serve as a minister and to perform substantially all the functions of an ordained minister may be withdrawn by the Conference.
Ordination A licensed minister is ordinarily ordained after a period of approximately four years of field experience. This spiritual rite of ordination constitutes the official confirmation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church of a minister’s divine call to the ministry as a life commitment, and is his endorsement to serve as a minister of the gospel in any part of the world.
Authorized Ministerial Functions
A commissioned minister is authorized by the Conference to perform substantially all the religious functions within the scope of the tenets and practices of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church for the members in the church or churches to which the minister is assigned and elected as a church elder. A commissioned minister who serves as an institutional chaplain, and ordained as a church elder, may also perform these functions for persons served by the institution. The functions that are excluded are those listed in the Church Manual as follows: 1. Organizing a church; 2. Uniting churches; and 3. Ordaining local elders and deacons.
A commissioned minister may perform wedding or baptismal ceremonies outside of his pastoral district if authorized to do so by the Conference President. If the ceremony is to be conducted in the territory of another conference it will require the approval of both conference presidents.
Annual Review The leadership progress, professional development and spiritual growth of a commissioned minister will be reviewed annually by the Conference.
Authorization Withdrawn A commissioned minister's authorization to serve as a ministerial employee may be withdrawn by the Conference.
Commissioned Minister Credential A licensed commissioned employee in pastoral care is ordinarily granted a commissioned minister credential after five years of denominational service. It is not the normal practice to ordain an individual holding a
Commissioned Minister Credential.
