Candidacy Partners

Applicant/Candidate

At entrance an applicant will share with a Candidacy Committee experiences and learning acquired during the discernment journey. The process of discernment is a lifelong endeavor. It precedes candidacy, continues throughout candidacy and the period of study at a seminary, and evolves into an expression of vocation for the remainder of a person’s life. Discernment will be frequently and regularly assessed, not only by the candidate, but also by the community of faith, the seminary, the Candidacy Committee, and others in an atmosphere of mutual trust, respect, and openness to the spirit.

Congregation

Congregations identify and accompany people as they discern their vocations. For people who have discerned a call to rostered ministry, a congregation submits a Congregational Registration Form, which identifies and affirms a person’s gifts for rostered ministry.

Synod

On behalf of the whole ELCA, each synod establishes a Candidacy Committee to perform the important and highly sensitive task of making decisions about the fitness of those identified as potential candidates for rostered ministry.

Domestic Mission Unit

The director for candidacy, in collaboration with other candidacy staff, develops and provides oversight of the candidacy process in the ELCA. Oversight includes generating standards, procedures, and policies related to the recruitment, preparation, evaluation, and support of candidates for rostered ministry. Development includes monitoring the effectiveness of policies and procedures, identifying problems, and proposing revisions to the ELCA candidacy process as needed, registering psychological consultants, and granting all equivalencies and waivers requested for candidates.

ELCA Seminaries

ELCA seminaries, in consultation with other partners in the candidacy process, provide theological education for candidates, including academic certification, practical experience, and formation for ministry. Every Candidacy Committee includes an ELCA seminary faculty representative identified by the seminary dean and appointed by the director for candidacy in the Domestic Mission unit. The Domestic Mission unit maintains (at the Lutheran Center) an electronic database of candidate records submitted by candidacy committees.