Credential Process

Steps towards Commissioning, Licensing, and Ordination with the Church of God in Illinois

The Call to Ministry

It is assumed that persons who sense God's call to ministry in the Church of God are already actively engaged in the work of a local church. The call to ministry and the need for credentials will generally grow out of those experiences and relationships. In most instances the local pastor is fully aware of the gifts and the developing ministry of such persons and is in a position to give counsel and instruction as these persons seek to respond to God's call.

The ministerial candidate must write a letter of intention to the Credentials Committee relations declaring that he/she feels a divine call to the ministry and desires to pursue recognition as a minister in the Church of God.

One of the keys to the credentials process is to license and ordain persons who are vocational ministers or who are doing equivalent work of a vocational minister. We do not ordain Sunday school teachers, persons involved with hospital visitation, or similar volunteer ministries.