3030–3055

D. Licensed Minister ^*

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^*The 2022 General Conference adopted legislation which allows districts to make Licensed Minister a terminal status. See the Manual of Ministerial Preparation for additional information.

3030. Identification. A licensed minister is one whose ministerial calling and gifts have been formally recognized by a district conference, through the granting of a ministerial license which serves as authorization for and appointment to actual service in the ministry, subject to supervision and evaluation, as a step toward ordination. A licensed minister may be a former ministerial student who has qualified for and been appointed to regular service in one of the categories listed in 3250–3345.

3033. Granting a District Ministerial License. A member who meets the leadership qualifications (260-268; 558) of The Wesleyan Church who confesses a call of God to be a minister (3000-3006), may be granted a district ministerial license by meeting the following requirements in order:

(1) Membership in a local Wesleyan church within the district granting the license.

(2) Satisfactory service as a ministerial student in The Wesleyan Church for at least one year.

(3) Certificate from the Ministerial Study Course Agency showing completion of the courses adopted as being prerequisites for licensing (6410; cf. 3170:1–4; 3210).

(4) Recommendation from the local church conference to the district conference for a district ministerial license (655:7-8).

(5) Readiness to accept the district conference’s appointment to active service in one of the categories listed in 3250-3335; to pursue the studies with all diligence until completed; and to prepare for ordination; and to give oneself wholly to the ministry.

(6) Examination by the district board of ministerial development (1390:1) relative to the qualifications for the ministry and for a district ministerial license (3000-3006; 3033:1-5), including a personal religious experience, ministerial call, and evidence thereof, matters of education, doctrine, and practice, and circumstances of personal, family, and business life which bear upon the ministry; and subsequent recommendation by the district board of ministerial development to the district conference for the granting of a district ministerial license (1390:5).

(7) Recommendation by the district board of administration for immediate appointment to one of the categories of service listed in 3250-3335.

(8) Adoption by the district conference of the separate recommendations of the district board of ministerial development (3033:6) and of the district board of administration (3033:7).

(9) Issuance and signing of the license by the district superintendent and the district secretary (1310:23; 1332:4; 6260).

3040. Renewing a District Ministerial License. A district ministerial license is effective for one year only, and authority to carry on the office and work of a minister under such a license shall cease unless it is renewed annually by the district conference until such time as the holder of the license is commissioned or ordained to the ministry. A minister may be granted renewal of the ministerial license by meeting the following requirements:

(1) Satisfactory service under a previous appointment, including loyalty to and compliance with the rules of The Wesleyan Church and of the district, and including the proper filing of reports. If a licensed minister fails to file the annual service report (1402), unless such failure is due to illness, injury, or a similar emergency, the license shall not be renewed (1390:8).

(2) Confirmation through the annual report of the Ministerial Study Course Agency that the minister has completed at least two courses in the pre- ordination study course (3210:1). The pre-ordination study course must be completed within seven years of service under a ministerial license. The ministerial license shall not be renewed beyond the seventh year unless an extension of time is granted by the district board of ministerial development (3059:1c).

(3) Agreement to continue under district appointment to one of the categories of service listed in 3250-3335 or, for one having completed the course of study for ordination, to take an appointment within the coming conference year.

3044. Rights of a Licensed Minister. As long as a minister qualifies for and receives a district ministerial license, the minister shall have the right (313) to:

(1) Preach the gospel (313:1) and, when appointed as a pastor or full- time assistant pastor of a Wesleyan church, to administer baptism and the Lord’s Supper, to perform all parts of divine worship, and to solemnize the rite of matrimony wherever local laws will permit.

(2) Contract the pastoral relationship with local Wesleyan churches subject to the approval of the district conference and other regulations of The Discipline (313:3; 323:1-2).

(3) Enjoy, if appointed as a pastor, the use for religious meetings of the church building or buildings of the pastoral charge to which assigned by the district conference (313:4); and to serve the assigned pastoral charge without interference by unauthorized activities of another minister of The Wesleyan Church (313:5; 3114).

(4) Be a voting member of the district conference if an ordained minister- elect, or the pastor, or assistant pastor of a Wesleyan church in that district (317; 1083:2-4); to be a nonvoting member if otherwise classified or appointed (1090:3); to be eligible for election to any office not restricted to ordained ministers or lay persons.

(5) Transfer in the manner prescribed by The Discipline from one district to another, subject to the concurrence of the district superintendent and the General Superintendent (313:6; 3055:3; 3097; 3100:1).

(6) Have recourse, even if under discipline, to a proper court of jurisdiction in any matters involving complaint against character or ministerial conduct and to appeal the decision of such court (313:7; Gen. Bd. Policy on Ch. Disc. 5200; 5206-5212).

3051. Duties of a Licensed Minister. A person holding a district ministerial license shall be responsible to:

(1) Enroll in the pre-ordination study course (3210:1) under the Ministerial Study Course Agency and the district board of ministerial development, and to pursue the study course with all diligence until completed, either through a program of ministerial training at one of the Wesleyan educational institutions, or through correspondence courses from the Ministerial Study Course Agency (3200).

(2) Serve the district faithfully under whatever appointment is received, seeking to complete the service requirements for ordination as quickly as possible.

(3) Report annually to the district conference on the appropriate service report form (1402; 3040:1), and to the district superintendent and the board of ministerial development as required (725:30).

3055. Regulations for a Licensed Minister.

(1) A licensed minister is amenable to the district which grants the license, and the license may be revoked between sessions of the district conference by judicial process (Gen. Bd. Policy on Ch. Disc. 5206-5212).

(2) A licensed minister’s credentials shall consist of the license, signed annually by the district superintendent and the district secretary (3033:9; 6260), and an annual pocket certificate of standing, issued and signed by the district secretary (6430).

(3) A licensed minister, when transferring district membership (3100:1), in addition to a letter of transfer, shall be supplied by the district superintendent and the district board of ministerial development with a properly attested statement of standing in the pre-ordination study course and a record of service under the appointment of the district conference.