Licensure & Ordination Pathway.
Welcome to the Pathway
Ordination and licensure are ways the larger Brethren Church family identifies, educates, vets, and holds accountable those men and women in charge of our local congregations for leading in ways that are consistent with who and what The Brethren Church believes, as well as how we function.
In 2022, we moved into an era of church leadership that requires all senior/lead pastors to be licensed or ordained through the Brethren Church. The following information and documents clarify the procedures for satisfying these requirements.
To be completed by individual:
Written Examination (Form 103)
To be completed by individual:
Written Examination (Form 103)
For Individuals & Regional Leadership:
To be completed by individual:
Written Examination (Form 303)
- Form 303 A – Basic Info
- Form 303 B – Sermon Samples
- Form 303 C – Spiritual Profile
- Form 303 D – Philosophy of Ministry
- Form 303 E – Education
To be completed by individual’s references
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Candidate (C) He or she who is seeking Licensure or Ordination.
Licensed Pastor (LP) Pastor who is Licensed either permanently or while finishing the pursuit of permanent licensure.
Supervising Elder (SE) The elder approved by (or assigned by?) the LP’s region to guide the pursuit of licensure/ordination between examinations and ensure orthopraxy in living out pastoral responsibilities (think mentor).
Local Church (LC) Church wherein the candidate is serving.
Regional Leadership Team (RLT) A group of lay and ordained regional leaders assembled in each of the five regions. Made up of representatives from all five regions to provide polity and ordination oversight and change.
GLOSSARY OF FORMS
FORM 101: Request for Initial Licensure by Local Church & Examination for Initial Licensure by Region & Annual Renewal of License by Region
FORM 103: Licensure: Written Examination
FORM 107: Brethren Church Licensure Contact Form
FORM 202: Licensure Review Survey
FORM 204: Licensure Guidelines for Regional Oral Examination for Licensure
FORM 301: Ordination Request for Examination for Ordination by Local Church and Region
FORM 302: Ordination Review Survey
FORM 303: Ordination Written Examination
FORM 304: Ordination Guidelines for Regional Oral Examination for Application for Ordination
FORM 305: Guidelines for National Board of Oversight Oral Interview and Examination
FORM 306: Ordination Confidential Reference
100 series are pre-licensure
200 series are active licensure
300 series are ordination-related
Documents ending in:
–1 are requests for the next phase (LC votes)
–2 are Review Surveys
–3 are written exams
–4, are oral exam guidelines
–5, –6, –7 are unique (no pattern), so they are numbered at the end for consistency.