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Information for Provisional Members (including Applying for Full Membership)

Things to Know about Provisional Membership

Becoming a provisional member means that the church believes you are both called (demonstrated by the recommendations of your SPRC, church conference, and dCOM), and ready for active ministry (demonstrated by BOM's recommendation). The period of provisional membership is your opportunity to hone your gifts for ministry, continue to learn and grow, and begin to demonstrate your effectiveness in ministry (effectiveness is what BOM will look for when you apply for full membership).

Clergy Things to Know

  • Your new title is: The Reverend _________

  • You can wear a robe and clerical collar, but not a stole (the diagonal stole and Deacon pin are markers of ordination).

  • If your primary ministry is NOT within a local church, you will need to identify a local church as your secondary ministry setting.

  • You will need to make a formal request to the bishop to be appointed to your ministry site(s) - called primary and seconary appointments. If you change jobs or churches, you will have to have the new setting(s) approved as your new appointment.

  • You are now part of the clergy session of Annual Conference, but NOT its executive session. This affects what you can vote on.

  • You may be able to designate part of your income as a tax-free housing exclusion to cover some housing costs (not all secular employers are able to do this, so speak with a tax professional)

Requirements to Know

  • You must be a provisional member for at least 3 years, but not more than 8 years

  • For the first 3 years that you are a provisional member, you must complete Provisional Leadership Academy (PLA)

  • You will meet with a group of BOM members each year in April/May to talk about your growth in ministry

  • You will need to complete a fruitfulness project (see below). Begin thinking about this in your first year!

  • You will need to meet with a clergy mentor regularly (see below)

  • You will be expected to attend Annual Conference as long as you are active in ministry (don't forget to register and pay the registration fee), unless you request and the bishop approves your absence.

  • You must submit a Deacon Report Form every year as long as you are in ministry.

Mentoring

When you are commissioned, your DS is supposed to assign you a clergy mentor for the duration of your provisional ministry. In practice, it can take a year or more for this to happen. Also, while it is very beneficial to work with a deacon mentor, there is no guarantee that you will be assigned to a deacon. However, you can seek out your own mentor (within or beyond the Order), and make a request that your DS finalize that assignment. Generally, DS's are happy to approve self-initiated mentoring arrangements. This is a great opportunity to make sure you end up working with a mentor you "click" with, and who can support and coach you through the unique aspects of deacon ministry.

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The content of mentoring meetings is confidential, and up to you and your mentor to structure. Some resources are available to help shape mentoring sessions, though you can certainly use the time in other ways. In particular, your mentor is an invaluable resource as you work on the requirements for full membership, including your fruitfulness project. Be sure to discuss any feedback from BOM (from your provisional exam and all follow-up meetings).

Fruitfulness Project

The fruitfulness project fulfills requirements put in place by the 2012 Book of Discipline. Rather than another hurdle to jump, think of it as an opportunity to showcase your unique gifts and call to ministry. This project provides a concrete way to conceptualize what it means to you to be a deacon. The official description can be found here. 

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Most basically, the project is intended to be something to which you devote meaningful time and attention (~300 hours total), and which demonstrates a creative or innovative expression of church/ministry. It is ideally suited to highlight deacons' unique contribution to ministry outside of the traditional bounds of "church." It is also experimental, meaning that it does not need to be a "success" - just a learning experience.

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The project shouldn't be a source of additional and undue pressure beyond what is achievable in your ministry setting. Instead, think creatively about what you already do or are in a position to implement within the span of your provisional years. Use your mentor and Order members to help formulate your ideas, and plan to submit an initial proposal by the April after you are commissioned.

Applying for Full Membership

Much of the application for full membership will be similar to the application you completed for provisional membership, with a few important distinctions.

  1. The deadlines are earlier: July & September for an October interview.

  2. The questions about theology/doctrine focus on how the practice of ministry has shaped your understanding of each concept - in other words, each answer must integrate your experience of ministry with your academic understanding of theology.

  3. Because many requirements, ranging from the Bible study to the doctrinal questions can be integrated into the fruitfulness project reflection, you will have to decide what to integrate, and what to leave as stand-alone submissions. Your mentor is a great asset as you make these choices. We also share some recent ordinands' reflections on the process here. 

It's also good to be on top of other requirements:

  • Make sure your transcripts, medical and psychological evaluations, and background check are up to date.

  • Update your theological autobiography to integrate your experience of ministry.

  • Deacon Formation Event: The Order of Deacons in the New England Annual Conference holds a day-long retreat each Fall, but not every retreat counts as a formation event. However, at least one of the retreats during any three-year period WILL be a formation event. Provisional members are strongly encouraged to attend this retreat each year (and may be required to do so as part of PLA). If you miss locally-offered formation events, GBHEM offers formation events annually for deacons from across the connection. 

  • Anti-Racism Training: A requirement for all provisional members (deacon and elder), this training is currently incorporated into the 3-year cycle of PLA. If you do not complete the training in full as part of PLA, work with the BOM registrar to identify another way to complete the requirement.

Proclamation

As we mentioned in the section on applying for provisional members, remember that proclamation of the word refers to much more than traditional preaching. You will do best if you (1) present something congruent with your ministry as a deacon, and (2) play to your strengths. Even if you decide to preach a sermon in a traditional worship context, make use of the flexibility you have as a deacon to speak to the congregation in a way that feels authentic to you - you don't need to stand behind the pulpit, or offer a 15-20 min "3-point sermon." Think about what you do in your normal ministry, and how that ministry conveys the Good News of the gospel.

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The only limitation is that you have to be able to provide a video of the proclamation (so therapeutic contexts will only work if you can isolate a section where it's just you talking or presenting). For sermons, the text has to be from the lectionary for July of the application year, so it's best to choose one of those passages to integrate into whatever form of proclamation fits your ministry. More on how to approach proclamation if preaching isn't central to your call can be found here.

Bible Study

In your educational requirements, you may or may not have encountered advice on developing a Bible study. Even though churches often purchase study material, for full membership/ordination you need to create one yourself. This study can be part of your fruitfulness project if it makes sense to develop a study in conjunction with your project. There is no requirement regarding the number of sessions/meetings in the study.

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You do not need to fully script or record the study. You do, however, need to provide lesson plans, and participant evaluations (Google forms is helpful here) so you will need to actually lead it, not just plan it. 

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As you think about structuring a study, there are a few things to keep in mind.

  1. It is helpful to use multiple modes of engagement (not just dialogue, but some hands-on activities).

  2. Do your own study on the text(s) to ensure that you are offering solid exegesis.

  3. Work to cultivate interaction between participants, rather than having each participant interact primarily with you.

mentor proclamation
Fruitfulness Bible study
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