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Ordination

Prepared, examined, and sent.

Ordination through CLC is a prayerful, rigorous, church-rooted path, from formation to examination to the laying on of hands. It is the most solemn thing we offer.

Ordination is taken through a hosting church.

You cannot pursue ordination online alone. Every candidate walks this path under the pastoral oversight of a local CLC church: real elders, real accountability, real commissioning. If you don't yet have a church in the CLC family near you, that is where we start.

See the ordination program →

Three pathways

One board. Three doors.

Where you enter depends on where you are. The board reviews every candidate the same way, with the same seriousness, the same care, and the same authority.

I

Licensed minister

Serving while in process.

A licensed designation allows you to perform the functions of ministry legally while you are in the process of pursuing full ordination. It is available at the recommendation of your lead pastor and upon board approval; no prerequisite training is required to apply.

II

Standard ordination

The full path through CLC.

Standard ordination requires completing both of CLC’s training programs, concurrently or prior to becoming eligible. You may begin the ordination process after completing the first program. This is the primary path for those who are beginning their ministry formation with CLC.

III

Equivalency ordination

For those with proven ministry experience.

If you have been ordained previously, or have at least five years of service as a pastor or high-level lay leader in a local church, you may apply for ordination without completing the full two-program path. Equivalency applications are reviewed case-by-case by the board. Prior ordination or church staff experience does not guarantee approval.

“Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you… when the council of elders laid their hands on you.”

1 Timothy 4:14

The process

Seven steps to the laying on of hands.

The process takes time on purpose. We recommend beginning at least eight months before your intended ordination date.

  1. Confirmation and application

    Your lead pastor (or another pastor within the CLC family of churches) confirms your call to ministry and recommends you for the process. You complete the application, and we send you the Ordination Handbook to work through as you go.

  2. Personal disclosure and references

    You complete the Self-Disclosure, the Release form, the Code of Pastoral Ethics, the Spouse Questionnaire, and the Request for Reference form. These are serious documents: they ask you to give an honest account of your character, your household, and your walk with God.

  3. The reading list

    Twenty-nine books. Roughly 7,000 pages. Select titles are available in audio. This is not a checklist: it is the theological and pastoral library a minister ought to carry. The board will draw on it in the examination.

  4. Signing the creeds and the statement of faith

    You sign the Orthodox Creeds, the CLC Statement of Faith, and the Mission Statement. To be ordained by CLC is to stand in a line of confessional, creedal Christianity: this signing marks where you plant your flag.

  5. Personal faith history and ordination papers

    You write a Personal Faith History and complete your Ordination Papers, a formal account of your theology, your calling, and your understanding of the office you are pursuing. These become the basis for the examination.

  6. Oral examination

    The CLC Ordination Board examines you in person. They will probe your theology, your character, your family, and your readiness for the weight of ministry. This is not an academic test: it is a pastoral conversation with men who will give account for their recommendation.

  7. The laying on of hands

    Pastors and elders lay hands on you at an official CLC ordination service. This is the moment of commissioning: not a ceremony of achievement, but a public act of sending under the Church’s authority and blessing.

The reading list

Twenty-nine books every minister ought to carry.

29
books
~7,000
pages
Select
in audio

The ordination reading list spans theology, church history, pastoral practice, and Christian biography. The board will draw on this reading in your oral examination: these are not supplemental, they are the library of a minister who intends to go deep and stay there.

The full list is included in the Ordination Handbook, which you receive when you begin the process. You may request a copy any time.

Request the handbook →

Questions

Talk to the board.

Ordination questions deserve real answers. Reach out directly, and someone on the board will respond.

Or use the contact form and mention ordination.

Ordination

Begin the path.

Ordination is taken through a hosting church. Find a CLC church near you to get started.

Find my church