Ministers are men and women called of God to serve the church in an official leadership capacity who normally have special education for such a ministry, whose leadership roles are certified through licensure or ordination, and who receive financial remuneration for their services. This includes ministers such as pastors, evangelists, Christian education or youth ministers, chaplains, or persons directly involved in the theological training of people for ministry.

a. Ministers shall meet the following biblical qualifications:

1. spiritual maturity and Christian character as evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit as given in Galatians 5:22-23 and by the qualities required for Christian leaders in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9;
2. gifts of leadership confirmed by the church of which they are members (Ephesians 4:11-14); and
3. a servant spirit which enables them to submit to the authority of God as they lovingly exercise that authority in ministering to the people of God (John 13:1-17; 1 Cor.4:1-2; Phil.2:1-11).

b. Ministers shall meet the following educational qualifications:
1. a high school diploma or its equivalent; and
2. additional education as set forth in the description of licensed and ordained ministers. (Note: Special consideration may be given after consultation with the candidate, the district superintendent, and the president or his representative and approval of the district executive board.)

c. Ministers shall meet the following denominational qualifications:
1. participation in and completion of a prescribed program of study in the history and polity of the Missionary Church;
2. a commitment to hold and to teach the denominational "Articles of Faith and Practice";

3. a commitment to support the programs of the Missionary Church;
4. a commitment to communicate by word and example a Christian worldview and lifestyle as reflected in the Missionary Church Constitution and Manual;
5. membership in a local Missionary Church unless otherwise approved by the district executive board due to extenuating circumstances; and
6. all credentialed ministers are required to attend district conference annually unless there are extenuating circumstances which are reported to and approved by the district superintendent prior to conference.

It is the policy of the Missionary Church not to license or ordain a person who has been divorced, divorced and remarried, or married to a person who has been divorced. In cases where there are extenuating circumstances, application may be made to the district executive board and upon a 75% vote of that body, a recommendation may be sent to the General Board which shall appoint a special commission to thoroughly investigate the case and give approval or disapproval.

Procedure
(a) Establish membership in a local Missionary Church;
(b) Counsel with their pastor and district superintendent as to the nature and condition of their call from God to the ministry;
(c) Receive an official recommendation from the board of their local church; and
(d) Submit a completed Application for Ministerial License Part I to the district superintendent for consideration by their district executive board.

Applicants for the ministry living in an area where there is no Missionary Church shall comply with steps (b) and (d) immediately above.

Applicants for the ministry residing outside district conference boundaries may make application to the president with licensing or ordination subject to the approval of the Executive Committee of the General Board.

Licensed Ministers
Licensed ministers are those whose ministerial calling and gifts have been formally recognized by a district conference, through the granting of a ministerial license, authorizing them for and appointing them to actual service in the ministry, subject to supervision and evaluation, as a step toward ordination.

Procedure
(a) Applicants must have completed a minimum course of study consisting of at least one course in each of the following: Old Testament, New Testament, biblical or systematic theology, practical ministry theology, biblical interpretation, homiletics or communication, leadership and History and Polity of the Missionary Church; and
(b) The applicant shall be reviewed and recommended by the district executive board.

Ordained Ministers
Ordained ministers are ministers whose calling, gifts, and usefulness have been demonstrated and enhanced by proper training and experience, and who have been separated to the service of Christ by the district conference and by the solemn act of ordination and thus have been fully invested with all the functions of the Christian ministry.