Pastors Open to a New Call
Pastor Search Information

Resources . Ministerial Data Form . Health Insurance Information . Pastors Open to a New Call
Non PCA Pastors (ordination process) . Seminary Students (ordination process)

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RESOURCES FOR YOU

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MINISTERIAL DATA FORM (MDF)

The PCA Ministerial Data Form (MDF) is not available to download on this Web Site; if you would like to request or submit a current copy of the MDF, please email pastorsearch@pcanet.org.

*If you do not receive a reply to your email with one business week, please call our office
(678-825-1000) for assistance, as your email may not have been received.

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HEALTH INSURANCE INFORMATION

For health insurance information for those without call, please visit this link:
PCA Retirement and Benefits, Inc (RBI)
www.pcarbi.org/relief/WCApp1.pdf

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PASTORS OPEN TO A NEW CALL

If you are open to a new call or actively seeking a new call, our office offers some assistance to you.  We have a full-time pastor search secretary to help facilitate relationships between you and churches in the denomination.  One way we do this is by providing and processing
Ministerial Data Forms (MDF).  It is the corresponding form to the Church Profile Form.  We enter in information from both forms into a database that gives us the names of the candidates who are a good match for a church that requests these forms.  We then send the MDFs of those pastors to the churches.  To request a copy of the MDF, as well as receive more details about this process, please email us at pastorsearch@pcanet.org.

Please visit our Ministry Opportunity List to view vacant pulpits and staff positions.  It is a listing of PCA churches that have contacted our office to announce their vacancies.

For pastors without call and in need of short-term assistance with health insurance, visit the PCA Retirement and Benefit's Incorporated (RBI) Web site (www.pcarbi.org/relief/WCApp1.pdf).

*If you do not receive a reply to your email with one business week, please call our office
(678-825-1000) for assistance, as your email may not have been received.

Resources

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NON PCA PASTORS

Thank you for your interest in pursuing the pastoral ministry in the Presbyterian Church in America.  The PCA has made a firm commitment to the historic doctrinal standards that have been significant in Presbyterianism, with which you may be acquainted, namely the distinctives of the Reformed tradition.  To summarize, the PCA is committed to the inspiration, inerrancy and authority of the Scriptures in all matters of faith and practice.  The Word of God is our only rule of faith and practice, with our subordinate standard being the Westminster Confession of Faith including the Larger and Shorter Catechisms.

Our Book of Church Order includes sections referring to the procedures for churches and ministers joining the denomination.  Regarding the admission of ministers, Section 13-6 states:

13-6.    Ministers seeking admission to a Presbytery from other Presbyteries in the Presbyterian Church in America shall be examined on Christian experience, and also touching their views in theology, the Sacraments, and church government.  If applicants come from other denominations, the Presbytery shall examine them thoroughly in knowledge and views as required by BCO 21-4 and require them to answer in the affirmative the questions put to candidates at their ordination.  Ordained ministers from other denominations being considered by Presbyteries for reception may come under the extraordinary provisions set forth in BCO 21-4.

The reference to Chapter 21 is important, as it concerns the specific academic and theological requirements for ordination.  The Book of Church Order can be accessed online at http://www.pcanet.org/bco, and there you will note that Section 21-5 specifies some of the
questions asked at the time of ordination.

Since it is the responsibility of the local presbytery to ordain ministers, please contact the
*pastor search secretary so she can put you in touch with the stated clerk and local pastors
in your area for more information and help in this process.  Please include your address when
asking for this information.

To place your resume on file with us or request a Ministerial Data Form, please email us at *pastorsearch@pcanet.org.  Your MDF and resume will be put on file and be made available only to those churches who request it.
 

*If you do not receive a reply to your email within one business week, please call our office (678-825-1000) for assistance, as your email may not have been received.

Resources

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SEMINARY STUDENTS

Our office is now circulating the MDF's of seminary graduates who are members of a PCA church and seeking ordination in the PCA.  Churches receiving your MDF will be notified if you have not yet been ordained. 

*If you do not receive a reply to your email with one business week, please call our office (678-825-1000) for assistance, as your email may not have been received.

Your seminary's placement office will be a valuable resource to you as you transition from theology student to minister.  These offices provide a variety of services, so be sure to contact them to find out what they offer as you begin to seek a call in ministry.
 

PROCESS OF ORDINATION:

In the Presbyterian Church in America, the following basic procedures are outlined for men desiring to pursue ordination in the gospel ministry.  According to our Book of Church Order
(chapters 18, 19 & 21) a candidate for the ministry (if never previously ordained): 

1. Comes "under the care" of a local church session, (giving evidence and testimony of his personal relationship with God and God’s call on his life to the ministry).

2. Is recommended to the regional presbytery and comes under the care of its Candidates and Credentials Committee.

3. Is "licensed to preach" by the presbytery.  (This involves an examination before presbytery on specified subjects and frequently takes place during the year of internship.)

4. Receives a "call" to a specific ministry, i.e. assistant pastor, pastor, evangelist, etc.

5. Is "ordained to the gospel ministry" by presbytery, following an examination on additional subjects.  (Before ordination there must be a "call" to a specific ministry.)

*Since it is the responsibility of the local presbytery to ordain ministers, please contact the pastor search secretary so she can put you in touch with the stated clerk and local pastors in your area for more information and help in this process.  Please include your address when asking for this information.

**If you do not receive a reply to your email with one business week, please call our office (678-825-1000) for assistance, as your email may not have been received.

Resources

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If you experience technical difficulty with this page, please contact
kperkins@pcanet.org or call 678-825-1000.

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