2016 Wesleyan Discipline:Courses of study:

2. Ministerial Study Course Agency

2385. Ministerial training within The Wesleyan Church will ordinarily take place in one of the approved educational institutions. However, for those persons whose circumstances make such institutional education impossible in whole or in part, the Education and Clergy Development Division shall provide correspondence courses of study. The correspondence courses shall also be open to others who wish to prepare for Christian service. (Cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3200–3210.)

2388. The Ministerial Study Course Agency shall be maintained at the denominational headquarters to centralize and standardize the keeping of records on all students for the various ministries recognized by The Wesleyan Church and the administering of the correspondence study courses for those ministries (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3200–3210). It shall be directed by the Executive Director of Education and Clergy Development. The duties of the Executive Director of Education and Clergy Development in this connection shall be:

(1) To maintain records on all students for the various ministries recognized by The Wesleyan Church, whether enrolled in educational institutions or in correspondence courses (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3170:1-3), and including students of the lay minister’s course of study (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3210:4; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3420), commissioned minister’s course of study (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3059:1b; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3210:3); the pre-ordination course of study (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3040:2; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3051:1; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3070:3; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3210:1), the courses of study for specialized ministries (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3210:2), and the special worker’s courses of study (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3210:5; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3460-3470). The records shall include transcripts, grades, courses finished, and current standing. The Agency shall exchange needed information with the educational institutions and the local and district boards directing the students, issuing an annual report concerning progress for the year and current standing to each student, a similar report on each student of the lay minister’s course of study to the local board of administration of the local church where membership is held, and a similar report on each student recognized by the district to the home district board of ministerial development prior to the session of the district conference (cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1387:2; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1390:2; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3040:2; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3460).

(2) To provide a correspondence course for each course required in each course of study, securing the services of a qualified instructor and approving the choice of textbooks and study plans, providing for the registration of students properly authorized to use the correspondence courses (cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3170:3), and providing study guides and instructions as well as examinations which shall be administered through an ordained minister whenever possible (cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3200).

(3) To provide suitable transcripts and to issue certificates upon the satisfactory completion of the work assigned (cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:6410).

(4) To evaluate any training taken outside the institutions and agencies of The Wesleyan Church by a student for one of the ministries recognized by The Wesleyan Church, to judge the equivalence of such outside training to the appropriate course of study, and to report any conclusions and recommendations to the appropriate local board of administration or district board of ministerial development (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3070:3; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3104:4; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3170:4; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3470).

C. Types of Ministerial Education

1. Programs of Study

3170. The following programs of study are open to the candidates in meeting the educational requirements for becoming an ordained minister in The Wesleyan Church.

(1) Seminary. It consists of graduation from a four-year course of study at one of the institutions of higher education of The Wesleyan Church, plus graduation from a three-year divinity course under the Wesleyan Seminary Foundation (cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3170:4). This is recommended as the most adequate academic preparation for the Wesleyan minister. Graduation from a three-year divinity course at an approved seminary reduces the period of service required before ordination (cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3070:2). One-year and two-year master’s degrees in ministerial preparation are not as adequate as the standard three-year divinity course, but may be combined with undergraduate courses to meet academic requirements for ordination.

(2) College/University. It consists of graduation from one of the institutions of higher education of The Wesleyan Church, involving the completion of a minimum of four years’ work and covering the authorized ministerial study courses (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3200; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3210:1–3). This is recommended as the minimum academic preparation for becoming an ordained minister in The Wesleyan Church.

(3) Correspondence. It is recognized that some individuals are converted late in life, and hear God’s call to the ministry after the normal time for education has passed and family responsibilities make attendance at an institution of higher education extremely difficult. In such cases, a district board of ministerial development may grant special permission to a candidate for the ministry to secure part of the training through correspondence courses administered by the Ministerial Study Course Agency. These courses will of necessity concentrate on the specialized subjects needed for the ministry, and the district board of ministerial development shall encourage such candidates to secure training in the more general educational subjects in formal class settings (cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3210:1). (Cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1390:2.)

(4) Training Outside The Wesleyan Church. Some candidates for the ministry will have secured some or all of their higher education outside the institutions and agencies of The Wesleyan Church. In such a case, the district board of ministerial development shall forward copies of transcripts or other records of study to the Ministerial Study Course Agency so that it can carefully evaluate such work in terms of its equivalence to the ministerial courses of study of The Wesleyan Church, giving particular attention to the candidate’s qualifications in the areas of Wesleyan doctrine, history, and polity (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:2388:4; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3033:3; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3059:1b; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3070:3; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3104:2). Subsequent to each evaluation and the report of the Ministerial Study Course Agency, the district board of ministerial development shall have the right to require additional work until it and the Agency are fully satisfied that all requirements for the Wesleyan ministry have been met. (Cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1390:2.)

2. Courses of Study

3200. The Executive Director of Education and Clergy Development shall develop courses of study for pre-ordination, specialized ministries, commissioned ministers, and special lay ministries (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:2341:1–3). Each course of study shall be composed of a number of courses, each course being implemented by a college or seminary course of two or more hours, or by a correspondence course involving the use of a study guide issued by the Ministerial Study Course Agency, the intensive study of one or more textbooks plus collateral reading, and other pertinent study assigned by the Agency, and an examination prepared by the Ministerial Study Course Agency and taken in the presence of an ordained minister. No credit shall be given for any correspondence course in which the final grade is less than passing.

3210. The following courses of study shall be provided:

(1) Pre-ordination Course of Study. It shall require as a prerequisite a high school diploma or its equivalent. It shall consist of four years of college and/or seminary-level work, and shall cover necessary general education courses as well as the full range of ministerial training subjects—biblical, historical, theological, and practical, including courses in Wesleyan doctrine, history, and polity.

(2) Courses of Study for Specialized Ministries. These shall consist of special adaptations of the pre-ordination study course (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3210:1) for those who are called to the work of minister of music, minister of Christian education or others as deemed necessary.

(3) Commissioned Minister’s Course of Study. It shall consist of two years of college-level work, and shall incorporate biblical, historical, theological, and practical courses, including courses in Wesleyan doctrine, history, and polity.

(4) Lay Minister’s Course of Study. It shall consist of one year of college-level work, and shall include courses in Wesleyan doctrine, the history of The Wesleyan Church, the polity of The Wesleyan Church, including a study of The Discipline, and other basic ministerial subjects.

(5) Special Workers’ Courses of Study. These shall be designed to prepare lay members for special fields of service, such as director of music, director of spiritual formation, evangelistic singer, children’s worker, spouse in ministry, lay evangelist, and social worker. Such study courses shall consist of two years of college-level work, and shall include courses in Wesleyan doctrine, history, and polity, and such other subjects as are pertinent.

3. Continuing Education

3240. The Executive Director of Education and Clergy Development shall adopt within structure provided by the General Board varying programs of continuing education for the ordained ministers, ordained ministers’ spouses, commissioned ministers and spouses, and commissioned special workers of The Wesleyan Church (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:2341:15).