This seminar is required for the North Central District ordination & consecration candidate preparation. If you are NOT in the ordination or consecration process with our district, please connect with Lisa Scarrow before attending.
The North Central District has set up a cycle for ordinands & consecrands to prepare the required six (6) position papers and attend four (4) seminars on a two-year cycle. Newly licensed workers immediately enter the cycle and participate at the next scheduled Seminar. All C&MA reading and written requirements for ordination/consecration will be met within the two-year cycle. More information will be given to you at the Seminar. Meeting as a group, ordinands/consecrands interact about their papers with peers and LO&CC members who are experienced Alliance pastors.
Seminar Objectives
To inform candidates about the ordination process and answer questions they may have.
To provide a forum for candidates to discuss their position papers.
To stimulate candidates to sharpen their theological positions.
To promote Christ-centered church ministry that exalts Christ in His glory and power.
Required Readings
“All for Jesus” by R, Niklaus, J. Sawin, S. Stoesz.
“Growing a Healthy Church” by Dann Spader, Gary Mayes
Please turn in a signed and dated written statement or send an e-mail to Lisa Scarrow (scarrowl@ncdcma.org ), verifying that you read the book. This will go in your ordination/consecration file at the office.
*The paper below assumes familiarity with the “Growing a Healthy Church” philosophy. If you have taken the required GHC seminar and have the notebook, you can draw on that resource. If not, you will need to read the book and write a 200-300-word book report that should be turned in via email to Lisa Scarrow (scarrowl@ncdcma.org).
Write 1 Position Paper
Completing Christ’s Mission
An 8-page min. paper (double-spaced, standard margins) covering the following points:
What the Bible teaches on the lostness of humankind
Relate the Great Commission passage, Mt. 28:18-20, to Acts 1:8
Interact with the Growing a Healthy Church philosophy, demonstrating how you are integrating it in your own life
Explain the local church’s role in and commitment to world missions
Explain the pastor/staff member’s role in mobilizing the local church in Great Commission completion (local evangelism, church multiplication, and world missions).
Discuss the Destiny of Man Mt. 24-25
Living on Mission Col. 4
Church Planting according to Acts
Personal Discipleship Plan
Your paper is due at the beginning of the seminar via email.
Position papers are graded by LO&CC members on a pass/fail basis. If a paper is not “passable”, you will receive an explanation of the reason on the paper or attached note, along with instructions for needed improvements.
Discussion
Be prepared to make a five-minute presentation on each of the above points if called upon to do so and be ready to participate in discussion led by the facilitator. This is not a “graded” discussion, but one who is unprepared/uninvolved will not be given credit for this Seminar.
The facilitator will select at random an ordination candidate to make a five-minute presentation on one of the main points of the position paper.
That candidate will then involve the group in discussing any questions or issues he/she has raised.
The facilitator will provide feedback on the presentations and discussion, leading a brief Q & A session on the topic.
Other LO&CC members present may ask questions of any participant and may offer comments in discussion.
Important Note: This is not a “graded” discussion, like in a college or seminary class. However, credit depends on turning in a satisfactory paper on-time, and involvement in the discussion. If credit is forfeited, you will be required to re-attend the next time, prior to being ordained. Our LO&CC team urges you to make this a priority, as we ourselves are doing, since the goal is to come alongside you as equippers who strengthen your ministry. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.
Small Group Meeting and Prayer Time
As time permits, participants will meet in groups of four or five. Facilitators will lead a time of sharing and praying for one another.
The desired outcome for ordinands is not just to “pass.” It’s to explore and express one’s convictions about what Scripture teaches on Christ as our Healer, so that the ordinand can teach a church body well on the subject and establish a biblical practice of encouraging the sick to trust Christ by faith.