DEFINITIONS:

IMPORTANT FIRST STEP!  Purchase and read the PCA Book of Church Order !  In it you will find everything you need to know about the credentials process as well as other information about PCA polity.

The following is meant to provide an overview of the usual process and to define important terminology.

Candidate. (sometimes called, “Under Care”) “A candidate for ministry is a member of the church in full communion who, believing himself to be called to preach the Gospel, submits himself to the care and guidance of the presbytery in his course of study and of practical training to prepare himself for this office.” (BCO 18-1)

Every applicant for candidacy must have been a member of the congregation whose Session provides an endorsement for at least SIX months before filing his application.  Candidacy is a required step in the process toward ordination.

Licensure. “To preserve the purity of the preaching of the Gospel, no man is permitted to preach in the pulpits of the Presbyterian Church in America on a regular basis without proper licensure from the presbytery having jurisdiction where he will preach.” (BCO 19-1)

Great Lakes Presbytery has defined “on a regular basis” as preaching more than 12 times in the Presbytery in a year. If you preach more than that you must be licensed by Presbytery.   Candidacy is not required for licensure, nor is membership in a PCA congregation. Licensure is not necessarily a requirement for ordination.

Internship. “The Holy Scriptures require that some trial be previously made of those who are to be ordained to the ministry of the Word, both concerning their gifts and concerning their ability to rule as teaching elders…. To provide for such a period of trial, a candidate for ordination must serve an internship. This period of internship shall be at least one year in length, and may be longer at the discretion of the presbytery so as to give sufficient time for the presbytery to judge the candidate’s qualifications and service.” (BCO 19-7)

Internship is a formal process. It is NOT just a job in a church which might happen to be called an internship. Presbytery must approve and act upon an internship request. Certain requirements, which differ from presbytery to presbytery, are required to be met.

Ordination. “Ordination is the authoritative admission of one duly called to an office in the Church of God…” (BCO 17-2)

There are several requirements which must be met in order to proceed to ordination. Among them, a completed internship, a call to a specific ministry, and a series of educational and examination requirements. (See BCO 21)