The Committee on Preparation for Ministry provides care and oversight for all Inquirers, Candidates, and potential Commissioned Ruling Elders for the ministry under the care of the Presbytery. (G-2.06)
Inquirer Phase
The purpose of the Inquiry phase is to provide an opportunity for the church, and those who believe themselves called to ordered ministry as ministers of the Word and Sacrament to explore that call together so that the presbytery can make an informed decision about the inquirer’s suitability for ordered ministry.
They shall provide a certificate of completion of boundary training, which includes the topic of sexual misconduct and child sexual abuse prevention training, with recertification at least every thirty-six months. The presbytery shall determine which trainings are approved to meet
the criteria of these two requirements.
“Advisory Handbook on Preparation for Ministry in the Presbyterian Church (USA) - JULY 2023
Required Elements Before Advancing Beyond the Inquirer Phase
- Continue your active membership and participation in a Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation. If you are away from the community where your home congregation is located because of your theological education, find a PC(USA) congregation where you are and keep the CPM and your home session informed about your involvement there through their respective liaisons.
- Successfully complete at least one full year of seminary while under care of CPM as an Inquirer, communicating regularly with your liaison about your progress. If there are special circumstances, such as seminary already being completed, CPM will determine how to amend this requirement on a case-by-case basis.
- Complete a criminal background check through the presbytery
- Pass the Bible Content Exam
- Participate in a psychological evaluation approximately six months prior to your first one-year review, whether or not you plan to advance to Candidacy at that review. Current information about evaluators is available on the CPM pages of the File Cabinet on the Presbytery of Long Island website. You are responsible for scheduling the appointment and signing the necessary releases to have the results sent to the chair of the CPM. This evaluation will be reviewed by members of CPM and discussed with you when you meet with them. It will be particularly important when you seek advancement to Candidate status. Beyond that, confidentiality is assured. Recommended Centers
- Meet with your session one to two months before you meet with CPM seeking to advance to Candidate status. The session shall take formal action to endorse you to become a Candidate. Complete the following forms and submit them to the Pastor and Clerk of Session at least two weeks prior to the meeting:
- Form 5A, “Application to be Enrolled by Presbytery as a Candidate”
- Ford 5D, “Covenant Agreement and Candidate Release”
- If the session endorses your application, the Clerk of Session will complete Session’s portion of each document and submit them to the chair of CPM, along with Form 5B, “Session Recommendation for Enrollment as Candidate.”
- Meet with CPM to discuss your progress so far and to seek the committee’s formal action to advance you to the Candidate Phase. At least two weeks prior to the meeting, submit to CPM the following through your liaison:
- Form 3, “Pre-consultation Report on Development Areas”
- A Personal Statement of Faith (not a restatement of a creed). The statement should be no longer than one page and address doctrines such as the nature of the Godhead, the meaning of salvation, the life and mission of the Church, the authority of Scripture and the role of the Sacraments.
- Updated transcripts sent directly from your seminary reflecting your academic progress
- CPM will evaluate your academic progress, your ability to discuss your understanding of vocation, sense of call, faith, and the life of the church from a Reformed perspective. The committee will also give you feedback regarding your Statement of Faith to help you prepare for later steps. Regardless of the outcome of your meeting, afterward, CPM will complete Form 4, “Report on Consultation,” which indicates developmental progress along with growth objectives for the next year and send copies to you, your seminary, and your sponsoring session.
- At the conclusion of your meeting with CPM, you will be invited to leave the room while the committee considers your application and votes on whether to advance you to the Candidate Phase. If approved, CPM will present your name to the presbytery to be placed on the docket of the next presbytery meeting for formal action. If unconditionally approved by presbytery at that meeting (see next step), your minimum one-year in the Candidate Phase begins on the date of this CPM meeting.
- You will be called forward during the presbytery meeting, where you may be asked questions about your Christian faith and journey, sense of call, forms of Christian service undertaken in the past, motives for seeking ministry, as well as your preparation and plans. There should be no challenging theological questions and no formal statement of faith will be presented.