Licensure of Students to Exhort

"Students who have received licensure according to synodical regulations shall be permitted to exhort in public worship services." (Church Order, Article 22)

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Purpose Of Licensure: Licensure provides seminary students with the opportunity to conduct worship services and exhort in the churches of the CRCNA as part of their ministry formation program (including field education). Exhorting that is done to fulfill ministry formation requirements must be evaluated periodically. Evaluated exhorting must take place using approved forms in congregational or other approved settings. Students at Calvin Theological Seminary (CTS) will find “Preaching Opportunities and Sermon Evaluation Information” in ANGEL. EPMC students can find this information on the EPMC Requirements page.

Eligible Persons: Seminary students preparing for ordained pastoral ministry in the CRCNA may apply for a license to exhort in the churches of the CRCNA. Licensure is designed to aid students in their preparation for the ministry of the Word, and only students preparing for this ministry should seek licensure. Students nearing the completion of their first full year of seminary are eligible to apply for licensure.

Licensure Requirements: All students must meet specific requirements for licensure related to character, competence and capacity for ministry. These requirements are briefly described below:

  1. Character for ministry must be discernable from the student’s application and the recommendations of churches, classis, CTS faculty, and others. In the case of students from other seminaries, recommendations also may be sought from faculty from the student’s seminary.
  2. Competence for ministry must be discernable from the student’s application and the recommendations of churches, classis, mentors, and CTS faculty, and others.
  3. Capacity for ministry must be discernable in the student’s application, recommendations, and the completion of a minimum number of course credits and specific courses. Specific courses to be completed are: Two (2) preaching and/or worship courses. It is assumed that the student also has taken biblical-exegetical and theology courses.

On-line Application for Licensure: Students must be invited to access the application online from the CTS Ministry Formation Office. In the case an EPMC student, the application site will be accessible to after the student has accepted his/her admission to the program. If a student believes he/she is eligible to apply, access to the application may be requested by contacting the Office of Ministry Formation.

Procedure for Applying and Receiving Licensure: Students may apply for licensure at any time during the year. When invited to apply, the student should take the following steps:

  1. Respond to the invitation to apply for licensure. You will be able to log into the application using your website credentials.
  2. Complete the online application. (Students are advised to save their answers to the five items in the application.)
  3. For CTS students, once you have submitted you completed application, you will be prompted to request a recommendation from your FFM leader/faculty advisor. Your recommender will receive an e-mail with instructions for submitting a recommendation. If the recommendation is not received within ten days of the request being made, the applicant is advised to follow-up with the recommender.
  4. EPMC students need not request a recommendation. The recommendations from your recently completed EPMC application will be consulted for the purposes of your application for licensure.
  5. Applications received by the first of the month ordinarily will be processed by the Director of Ministry Formation (DoMF) by the 15th of the month and forwarded to CTS’s Candidacy Committee. In some cases the DoMF may advise the applicant regarding parts of the application that have not been completed and/or are inadequate. In such cases, the processing of the student’s application may be delayed until the next month or until all aspects of the application have been properly completed and received.
  6. The CTS Candidacy Committee reviews the recommendations of the DoMF and recommends approved applicants to the denominational Candidacy Committee (CC) for licensure. Applications not approved by CTS’s Candidacy Committee will be referred back to the DoMF for further work with the student or may be referred to denominational CC for advice.
  7. The denominational CC receives licensure recommendations from the CTS Candidacy Committee and approves applicants recommended for licensure. The CC notifies the DoMF of its licensure decisions and the CTS Office of Ministry Formation informs students regarding this decision. Applicants not approved for licensure will receive the decision/advice from the DoMF and/or a member of the CC.

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If you have questions about applying or to decline, contact the Office of Ministry Formation.