Only
churches that are classified as a General Council affiliated church as
defined in our District Council Bylaws, Article II. Local Assemblies, Section 2.
Classification, paragraph c. General Council Affiliated Assemblies and conform
with General Council Bylaws, Article VI. Assemblies are eligible to grant a
local church credential.
The two
primary purposes for establishing such a credential in the local church is (1)
to encourage lay people in ministry to pursue the call to full time ministry
while still in the preparation stage, and (2) to provide a means of
credentialing a lay person who actively serves the local church in a ministry
that might require some form of Aofficial
local recognition@ for ongoing
ministry in such an institution as a prison or hospital. The local church credential is not
transferable to other Assemblies.
Pastors and
board may request from the District Secretary the following
forms:
a. Local Church Credential Certification
form
b.
Official Application for a Local Church Credential
form
Please read
carefully the following guidelines that all participating General Council
affiliated churches are to follow in establishing a local church
credential.
Adopted by the General Presbytery
Adopted
2004
1. The local church
credential shall be referred to as a
commissioned minister.
2. The local church
credential is intended for the minister to subsequently become credentialed with
the district and General Council, and not be a terminal
credential.
3. The local church
credential shall be issued by the local General Council affiliated church board
upon recommendation by the pastor, consistent with the basic qualifications
provided in Bylaws, Article VII. Ministry, Section 2. Basic Qualifications, paragraph a. Salvation, paragraph b. Baptism in the Holy Spirit, paragraph
c. Evidence of call, paragraph d. Christian character, paragraph e. Doctrinal position, paragraph i. Marriage status; paragraph j. Annulments, marriage dissolutions, and
divorces and paragraph k. Eligibility of
women.
4. In considering
applicants for a local church credential who have a former spouse living, the
local church board must have reasonable good faith belief that the applicant
could be approved at a later time by the district and General Council
Credentials Committees for either an ecclesiastical annulment (fraud or
deception prior to the marriage) or recognition of preconversion divorce
(not preconversion separation).
5. The local church board
shall certify to the district through a completed form that it has agreed to
issue the local church credential consistent with guidelines adopted by the
General Presbytery and district.
The form shall simply provide for the church to state its intention to
issue the local church credential consistent with said guidelines. The district shall maintain a roster of
all General Council affiliated churches that have filed the completed form with
the district.
6. The local church
credential is intended to provide a mentoring relationship (as exampled in the
mentoring manual for certified ministers) by the senior pastor or his designee
to the local credential holder.
During the mentoring process the local church credential holder shall
make progress in fulfilling the basic educational requirements for certified
minister as provided in General Council Bylaws Article VII, Section 2, paragraph
h. Basic education
requirements.
7. The local church shall
provide the district the name, start date, and renewal date for all those to
whom it issues local church credentials.
It is recommended that the district establish personal contact and
relationship with the local church credential holder as a preparation for him or
her becoming credentialed with the General Council. Neither the General Council nor the
district council shall publish a roster of those who hold local church
credentials.
8. An application form
shall be provided by the General Council Credentials Committee and it may be
used by the local church for applicants to the local church credential. The local church may use such interview
or examination process as it desires.
The local church shall design its own credential certificate and renewal
forms for its local church credential holders.
9. All those who hold a
local church credential should provide the church a Social Security number and
be a U.S. citizen or hold a green card or current R-1 worker=s
permit.
10. The discipline of local
church credential holders shall remain with the local church. The local church is encouraged to use
the means of discipline consistent with that given for those who hold a General
Council credential.
11. A local church may not issue
a credential to a minister who has been dismissed by the General Council, or is
currently under discipline by the General Council.
12. A local church may not issue
a credential to anyone whose primary residence is outside the
13. A local church should conduct
a confidential background check for all applicants, utilizing the means
prescribed by the General Council Credentials Committee for conducting such a
check.
14. A local church credential
holder may hold credentials with another credentialing body during a transition
time if approved by the local church issuing the
credetial.
15. A local church credential
holder shall tithe to the local church, but shall have no financial obligation
to the General Council or district council.
16. A local church credential
holder may not hold this form of credential more than 4 years unless the
credential is solely required for active and ongoing local ministry in a prison,
hospital, or institution. The local
church does not have the option of restarting the credential after the second
term of 2 years for another cycle of recognition unless the credential holder
qualifies for the exception granted in the preceding
sentence.