Judicatory Ministers

Those serving in the ministry of Conferences and Associations are, increasingly, the denomination’s “sandwich generation”: they witness to, walk with and work through both the dying and the birthing of ministries. Association and Conference Ministers support leadership formation and authorization, congregational search and call, regional ministry programs, and they shape vision for church vitality.

The Ministerial MESA Ministry Team supports regional and judicatory ministers in the United Church of Christ, especially through the biennial event AM21: Authorizing Ministry in the 21^st Century (held most recently in Savannah, Georgia, in December 2014). MESA is pleased to equip Judicatory Ministers and Conference Staff with the following tools for the ongoing work of authorization, oversight, and search-and-call. As these tools are updated for a church that is ever-changing in the 21^st century, these files will be revised accordingly. Please check back frequently to use the latest versions of these files; dates are noted within the documents for reference.

Quick links to resources for Association and Conference Ministers:

• Ministerial Code of Ethics (2017)
• Sample Call Agreement
• Outline of a Ministerial File
• Vocabulary for Pastoral Positions
• Guidelines for Ecclesiastical Endorsement
• Procedures for Transfer of Ministerial Standing
• Sample Three-Way and Four-Way Covenants
• Sample Application for Privilege of Call/Dual Standing
• Access to the Ministerial Profiles Portal
• Information Review Form, for annual reporting between authorized ministers and Committees on Ministry
• Fitness Review Reporting Form
• Fitness Review Process Chart – Sample
• Media Guide for Fitness Reviews
• Roles of the Response Team in a Fitness Review
• Appeals and Communications in a Fitness Review
• The Marks of Faithful and Effective Authorized Ministers, including the Marks Rubric (especially for Committees on Ministry) and the Journaling the Journey workbook (especially for Members in Discernment and authorized ministers)
• Manual on Ministry
• Manual on Church
• Discernment Travelogue
• Discernment Travelogue – Spanish
• Discernment Travelogue – Samoan
• Dictionary of Pastoral Positions
• Dictionary of Pastoral Positions – Spanish
• Dictionary of Pastoral Positions – Samoan
• 2005 Proclamation on Ministry Issues
• The Marks of Faithful and Effective Boundary Awareness Trainers
• Search and Call Conversations (a conversation resource from the MESA Ministry Team)
• Conference User Guide to the Ministerial Profiles Portal
• Certificate Order Form
• MESA and seminaries in partnership
• Committee on Ministry Research Report
• For Circulation: Articles about Ministry
• For Authorized Ministers: Departure Ethics and Social Media Boundaries
• Interim Agreement between the United Church of Christ and The United Church of Canada