MIDAMERICA DISTRICT

PROVISIONAL PATHWAY

CANDIDATE HANDBOOK

Revised September, 2012

Provisional pathway Candidate Handbook

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

  1. Mission Statement and Core Values of the C&MA...... 3
  1. Purpose and Mission Statementof the MidAmerica District...... 4
  1. Statement of Faith, The Christian and Missionary Alliance...... 5
  1. Requirements for Provisional Pathways...... 7
  1. Reading List...... 10
  1. Position Papers...... 11
  1. BELLS...... 12
  1. Completion Schedule and Commitment Form...... 13 `
  1. Record of Completed Assignments...... 14
  1. Planning for Exam...... 15
  1. Elder Evaluation Form (Ordination/Consecration only)...... 16
  1. Exam Questions for Study ...... 19

Mission Statement

We desire to know Jesus Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King and to complete His Great Commission. The Alliance will fulfill His Commission through

  • Evangelizing and discipling persons throughout the United States,
  • Incorporating them into Christ-centered, community-focused congregations, and
  • Mobilizing them for active involvement in a global effort designed to plant Great Commission churches among unengaged, unreached and responsive peoples worldwide.

Core Values

Our mission central objectives are critical to all we are and do.

  • Lost people matter to God. He wants them found. Luke 19:10
  • Prayer is the primary work of the people of God. Philippians 4:6-7
  • Everything we have belongs to God. We are His stewards. 1 Chronicles 29:14
  • Knowing and obeying God’s Word is fundamental to all true success. Joshua 1:8
  • Completing the Great Commission will require the mobilization of every fully devoted disciple. Matthew 28:19
  • Without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we can accomplish nothing. 1 Corinthians 2:4-5
  • Achieving God’s purposes means taking faith-filled risks. This always involves change. Hebrews 11:6

MIDAMERICA DISTRICT OF

THE CHRISTIAN AND MISSIONARY ALLIANCE

Purpose Statement

To assist the churches of the Mid America District in implementing the Mission Statement of The Christian and Missionary Alliance, which is:

We desire to know Jesus Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King and to complete His Great Commission. The Alliance will fulfill His Commission through

  • Evangelizing and discipling persons throughout the United States,
  • Incorporating them into Christ-centered, community-focused congregations, and
  • Mobilizing them for active involvement in a global effort designed to plant Great Commission churches among unengaged, unreached and responsive peoples worldwide.

MISSION STATEMENT

To extend the kingdom of Jesus Christ in the MidAmerica District by:

  1. CARINGfor our district pastors and workers. 1 Peter 5:1-3
  2. CALLING our people to holiness. Romans 12:1-2
  3. CULTIVATING home missions (church planting). Matthew 28:18-20
  4. CHALLENGING our churches to world missions. Matthew 28:18-20
  5. CREATIVELY assisting our churches with growth. Acts 2:42-47

C&MA Statement of Faith

How do you live your life so authentically that there is no question about what you believe? Some people call it their creed; others call it dogma or position. Basically, doctrine is the bedrock on which you build your beliefs—a body or system of teachings relating to a particular subject.

What The Alliance believes about God, how He relates to us, and how we relate to Him is foundational in its teachings. The Alliance wholeheartedly serves God and the people of His world, based soundly on the Bible. We live and die by these words and believe they bring the only life worth living—one wholly committed to the King Jesus.

There is one God,(1) who is infinitely perfect,(2) existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.(3)

Jesus Christ is the true God and the true man.(4) He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.(5) He died upon the cross, the Just for the unjust,(6) as a substitutionary sacrifice,(7) and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood.(8) He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures.(9) He is now at the right hand of Majesty on high as our great High Priest.(10) He will come again to establish His kingdom, righteousness and peace.(11)

The Holy Spirit is a divine person,(12) sent to indwell, guide, teach, empower the believer,(13) and convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.(14)

The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice.(15)

Man was originally created in the image and likeness of God:(16) he fell through disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual death. All men are born with a sinful nature,(17) are separated from the life of God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.(18) The portion of the unrepentant and unbelieving is existence forever in conscious torment;(19) and that of the believer, in everlasting joy and bliss.(20)

Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all men; and those who repent and believe in Him are born again of the Holy Spirit, receive the gift of eternal life, and become the children of God.(21)

It is the will of God that each believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit and be sanctified wholly,(22) being separated from sin and the world and fully dedicated to the will of God, thereby receiving power for holy living and effective service.(23) This is both a crisis and a progressive experience wrought in the life of the believer subsequent to conversion.(24)

Provision is made in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the healing of the mortal body.(25) Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil are taught in the Scriptures and are privileges for the Church in this present age.(26)

The Church consists of all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are redeemed through His blood, and are born again of the Holy Spirit. Christ is the Head of the Body, the Church, (27) which has been commissioned by Him to go into all the world as a witness, preaching the gospel to all nations.(28) The local church is a body of believers in Christ who are joined together for the worship of God, for edification through the Word of God, for prayer, fellowship, the proclamation of the gospel, and observance of the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.(29)

There shall be a bodily resurrection of the just and of the unjust; for the former, a resurrection unto life;(30) for the latter, a resurrection unto judgment.(31)

The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent(32) and will be personal, visible, and premillennial.(33) This is the believer’s blessed hope and is a vital truth which is an incentive to holy living and faithful service.(34)

[1]Deuteronomy 6:4, [2]Matthew 5:48, [3]Matthew 28:19, [4]Philippians 2:6–11, [5]Luke 1:34–38, [6]1 Peter 3:18, [7]Hebrews 2:9, [8]Romans 5:9, [9]Acts 2:23–24, [10]Hebrews 8:1, [11]Matthew 26:64, [12]John 14:15–18, [13]John 16:13; Acts 1:8, [14]John 16:7–11, [15]2 Peter 1:20–21; 2 Timothy 3:15–16, [16] Genesis 1:27, [17] Romans 3:23, [18] 1 Corinthians15:20–23, [19]Revelation 21:8, [20]Revelation 21:1–4, [21]Titus 3:4–7, [22]1 Thessalonians 5:23, [23]Acts 1:8, [24]Romans 6:1–14, [25]Matthew 8:16–17, [26]James 5:13–16, [27]Ephesians 1:22–23, [28]Matthew 28:19–20, [29]Acts 2:41–47, [30]1 Corinthians 15:20–23, [31]John 5:28–29, [32]Hebrews 10:37, [33]Luke 21:27, [34]Titus 2:11–14

REQUIREMENTS FOR PROVISIONAL PATHWAYS

MIDAMERICA DISTRICT

Guidelines:

  1. The annual renewal of a provisional official worker’s license in the MidAmerica District shall be conditional upon the demonstration of continued commitment to completing the ordination/consecrationor church ministry worker program.
  1. Each candidate must have met the academic requirements for licensing (30 hours of Bible or its equivalent) before he/she cansit for the oral interview for ordination/consecration or church ministry worker license.
  1. These requirements should be completed within two years of initial licensing.
  1. The candidate for ordination/consecration or church ministry worker must be in full time ministry unless an exception is granted by the district superintendent.
  1. Two years of licensed ministry under The Christian and Missionary Alliance are required along with the approval of the candidate’s immediate supervisor, before a candidate is ordained or consecrated. Candidates for the church ministry worker license must complete a minimum of one year of ministry.

ASSIGNMENTS AND PROJECTS

  1. Each candidate who has not already done so shall complete the Alliance Polity Course.
  1. Each candidate will submit a proposed completion schedule (page 13) to his/her mentor and to the MidAmerica District at the beginning of the ordination/consecration or church ministry worker process. This constitutes the candidate’s plan for and commitment to the completion of the work in a timely manner. Completed assignments shall be recorded on the form provided. (page 14)
  1. Upon completion of each of the assignments, candidate will notify his/her mentor by email.
  1. The candidate shall request that an official transcript from each school attended after high school be forwarded directly from the institution to the MidAmerica District.
  1. The candidate will read the books on the current reading list (page 10) and notify his/her mentor after each book is read.
  1. The candidate will read through the entire Bible twice, using two different translations where available. Candidate shall notify his/her mentor when each reading has been completed and which version of the Bible was used.
  1. Candidate shall complete the missions awareness requirement in one of three ways and notify his/her mentor of the assignment completed:
  1. Provide a certified transcript from an approved Christian and Missionary Alliance educational institution indicating that they have completed at least one introductory college-level course on world missions.
  1. Audit (as a minimum requirement) an approved “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement” class OR complete the online Perspectives program.
  1. Read the “Certificate Level” reading requirements in the textbook “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement” and complete the appropriate interactive worksheets.
  1. Candidates will write position papers on the indicated topics of doctrine and ministry, using the suggested outlines in the handbook as guides only (page 11). Candidate shall email completed position papers to the district office and to his/her mentor, keeping a copy on file for future reference (ordination/consecration only).
  1. Candidate may be asked to submit ministry report/s to his/her mentor.
  1. Candidate and mentor will meet at least nine times per year. Areas of discussion will include personal Christian life, relationships, ministry and other appropriate topics. The spouse of a married candidate will be included in some of the meetings. If distance makes face-to-face meetings difficult, some may be by telephone.
  1. The candidate shall be required to attend an evangelism training seminar approved by the district superintendent and the LO&CC. This training shall be applied in his local church. The Bells lifestyle as presented by Michael Frost (page 12) can be a helpful tool. Candidate shall write a 2-3 page paper on the training and practical application of it. Paper shall be submitted to his/her mentor.
  1. The candidate shall be familiar with the most recent version of The Manual of The Christian and Missionary Alliance and understand Alliance Polity including government, constituted authority and positional statements.
  1. The candidate shall successfully complete one of the following:
  2. Participation in a Live 2:6 group for a complete cycle of training.
  3. Attendance and participating in the two Eternal CPR seminars (The Every Commission and The Everyday Commandment),
  4. Completion of the six Growing a Healthy Church online training modules, or
  5. Attend one training event sponsored by the MidAmerica District. Candidate shall write one or two paragraphs summarizing the experience. Paper shall be submitted to his/her Mentor.
  1. The mentor shall listen to or be present for two sermons presented at a regular church service by the ordinationcandidate. Mentor shall review sermons for content and delivery of Biblical material. The Mentor for a consecrationcandidate shall listen to or be present for two teaching sessions presented by the Candidate at the church. Mentor shall review the Candidate’s teaching for content and delivery of Biblical material (ordination/consecration only).
  1. The candidate shall serve in a ministry position for two years and write a 2-3 page paper about this project. Paper shall be submitted to his/her mentor (ordination/consecration only).
  2. The candidate shall be required to attendResonate (formerly known as New Official Workers Forum) as a requirement for ordination/consecration, church ministry worker's license or the sustaining of the candidate’s ordination/consecration if transferring from another denomination.
  1. The candidate is responsible to meet the suggested dates for submitting final work and completing final exams. (page 15).
  1. Several months before the candidate plans to meet with the LO&CC for his/her oral examination, the elders shall complete the Elder Evaluation Form(page 16). This evaluation shall be sent to the MidAmerica District and to the mentor (ordination/consecration only).
  1. Ordination/consecration candidates shall review and update as needed doctrinal questionnaire and biographical information from original application for ministry. This will give LO&CC members insight into candidate's Bible knowledge, as well as helping the candidate to prepare for the oral examination.
  1. An oral examination by the LO&CC shall be held upon completion of all requirements, with ordination/consecration or church ministry worker license to ministry to be approved by that committee.
  1. Candidates for the church ministry worker license shall submit a written personal growth plan (5 pages) to the district superintendent and LO&CC which includes the following:
  2. Brief rationale for ministry as a licensed church ministry worker
  3. Five key areas of life you plan to develop
  4. Key competencies you need to develop/acquire to grow in each area
  5. Potential mentors/coaches who can assist

Reading List

  1. *All for Jesus, Robert L. Niklaus, John S. Sawin, and Samuel J. Stoesz
  1. A Basic Guide to Eschatology, Millard Erickson
  1. *The Fourfold Gospel, A.B. Simpson
  1. Wholly Sanctified, A.B. Simpson
  1. *The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer
  1. *Children’s Bread, Keith Bailey
  1. *The Heart of the Gospel, A.B. Simpson, Bernie A. Van De Walle
  1. Wingspread, A.W. Tozer
  1. Choose one of these books:
  2. Power through Prayer, E.M. Bounds
  3. With Christ in the School of Prayer, Andrew Murray
  1. Statement on Sanctification, Manual of the C&MA, H8

*Indicates books required for church ministry worker.

Many of the books may be ordered from The Christian and MissionaryAllianceServiceCenter by phone at 877-284-3262 or email at . The Fourfold Gospel, Wholly Sanctified and The Pursuit of God are available from Wingspread Publisher at

The district office has one set of the required reading books. These are available for loan.

POSITION PAPERS (Ordination/Consecration Only)

Position papers shall be written by the candidate on the following subjects. A comprehensive treatment is expected, including, but not limited to, the items listed under each theme. The positional paper is to be original and should be no less than eight pages in length, double-spaced with 1" margins. The paper shall also include a bibliography of the resources referred to in the text. The positional paper is to be a statement of the candidate’s personal theological position.

Paper #1 – Christ Our Savior

  1. The nature of man and his final destiny
  2. The plan and purpose of the atonement
  3. The means and results of justification
  4. My personal experience of Christ as Savior

Paper #2 – Christ Our Sanctifier

  1. The crisis and progression of sanctification
  2. Identification of the believer with Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension
  3. The ministry of the Holy Spirit in sanctification
  4. My personal experience of Christ as Sanctifier

Paper #3 – Christ Our Healer

  1. The relationship of divine healing and the atonement
  2. The significance of prayer and anointing by the elders
  3. The ministry of healing in the local church
  4. My personal experience of Christ as our Healer

Paper #4 – Christ Our Coming King

  1. Defend the pre-millennial coming of Christ
  2. Trace the events surrounding the rapture of the Church
  3. Relationship between the imminence of Christ’s coming and world missions
  4. My personal understanding of Christ our coming King

Paper #5 – Christ’s Body: the Church

  1. Mission and Purpose
  2. Relationship to Jesus Christ
  3. Leadership and authority in the Body
  4. Relationship to The Christian and Missionary Alliance
  5. Relationship between the members

Paper #6 – Completing Christ’s Mission

  1. The lostness of mankind
  2. The Great Commission passages (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8)
  3. Interaction with the “Growing a HealthyChurch” philosophy
  4. Demonstrate a strategy of implementation of this strategy in one’s personal life
  5. The local church’s commitment to world missions
  6. The leader’s role in mobilizing the local church in Great Commission completion (evangelism, church multiplication, world missions).

BELLS

Living in Missional Rhythm

(As presented by Michael Frost)

Genesis 12: 2,3

I will bless you . . . and you will be a blessing . . . and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.

Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.

Bless at least 3 people each week

This may be manifest in different forms. It could simply be an email of affirmation or encouragement. It could be mowing a neighbor’s lawn or babysitting for a single mom. It could be a small gift. Bless a person who is a believer. Bless a person who is not a professing Christian. Bless a person from either category.

Eat with at least 3 other people each week

Eat with a person who is a believer. Eat with a person who is not a professing Christian. Eat with a person from either category.

Listen to the promptings of God in our lives

Commit to specific times of solitude for active listening to God. This might include a prayer walk, the use of prayer beads, etc. Give at least one hour each week for this activity.