Ministry Personnel

Candidacy Committee

From the day of baptism God calls us into ministry.  As baptized people of God we are called to respond with lives of witness and service to a world that is filled with hunger for Good News.

The Candidacy Committee is a part of the work of the ROCKY MOUNTAIN SYNOD and the  EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA.    This committee works with candidates as they explore and discern God's call for them

A call is not a career or a profession.   It is the vocation of our life--the work that gives us meaning and purpose.

Discovering the voice of God's call among all the calls of our culture is a serious and sometimes anxious process.  Listening for God, who knows what you need and what the world needs you to do, is your challenge and opportunity. 

God calls-- and you might respond by considering rostered ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

All God's people have gifts for ministry -- the work of the faithful.  The question to consider is "which gifts do I have, and how will I use them?"  This committee is designed to be of help with this.

There are varieties of ministry that are a part of the wider ministry of the Church--

• Ministry of Word and Sacrament -- Ordained ministers serve with hearts filled with love and courage, to offer the hope of the sacraments and to lead the proclamation of the Gospel.

• Diaconal Ministry -- Diaconal Ministers are consecrated for service in ministries at the intersection of church and world.

• Deaconess Community -- A Deaconess is consecrated for service in the context of the church's mission to proclaim the Gospel, to relate the Gospel to human need in every situation, and to extend the ministry of the Gospel to all the world.

• Associates In Ministry -- Associates in Ministry are commissioned for ministry in the areas of education, service, music, and administration.

PREPARATION FOR MINISTRY

Preparation for any form of public or what the ELCA calls ROSTERED ministry involves an encounter between the Christian tradition and the cultural context in which we live.   The journey begins with discernment -- a process that involves prayer, conversation with people you trust, and reflection, all over a period of time.  The book What Shall I Say? Discerning God's Call to Ministry, (Augsburg 34-1-2106) provides guidance and direction for individuals in this process.  Should this initial discernment identify potential gifts and a sense of call that might be to rostered ministry, the candidacy process begins.

CANDIDACY PROCESS

Candidacy in the ELCA is the churchwide process of preparation and formation leading to the ordained ministry of Word and Sacrament, the consecrated ministry of diaconal minister or deaconess, or the commissioned ministry of associate in ministry.  Candidacy involves a significant partnership that engages the candidate, congregation, synod, seminary and the Division for Ministry in guidance evaluation, theological education and practical preparation. 

Interested individuals are encouraged to begin the process of candidacy at least one year prior to planned study.

The Candidacy Committee is responsible for determining with interested individuals their readiness to enter the candidacy process and to begin theological education.  Candidates who are entered into the process are helped by the review of the committee and their progress toward rostered leadership is endorsed by this committee.  Finally, when the candidate is ready, the committee reviews the candidate's progress and gives approval for readiness to serve in rostered ministry.

The committee is appointed by the bishop and ratified by the Synod Council. The committee is currently comprised of:

Theological Conference And Continuing
Education Planning Committee

This committee comes together to plan and set up the theological conference.  This group also attempts to explore for the rostered leadership ways to encourage further professional growth in the many facets of ministry.

The Committee membership consists of:

Ministry In Specialized Settings

The Bishop's office has the task of evaluating requests for calls to non-congregational ministry of this synod. The Bishop's office considers such requests, makes recommendations for these calls to the Synod Council and encourages standards for specialized calls. The following downloadable documents will assist those seeking a call to specialized ministry:

Call Guidelines for Ministry in Specialized Settings (.pdf file requires Adobe Reader)

Basic Criteria for Requests for Calls to Ministry in Specialized Settings (.pdf file)

Application Form for Call to Specialized Ministry   MS Word Document   or  PDF File