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Becoming a Deaconess or Home Missioner: Qualifications and Steps

What are Deaconesses and Home Missioners?

Deaconesses, who are lay women, and Home Missioners, who are lay men, are defined as a community who have responded to the call of God in their lives and have been commissioned by The United Methodist Church to full-time ministries of love, justice and service. They form a covenant community that is rooted in scripture, informed by history, driven by mission, ecumenical in scope and global in outreach.

Qualifications

  1. A call from God to full-time vocation in mission service.
  2. Membership in The United Methodist Church
  3. Commitment to functioning through "diverse forms of service directed toward the world to make Jesus Christ known in the fullness of his mission, which mandates that his followers:
    1. Alleviate suffering.
    2. Eradicate causes of injustice and all that robs life of dignity and worth.
    3. Facilitate the development of full human potential.
    4. Share in building global community through the church universal."

      ~The Book of Discipline 2004

  4. Biblical, theological, and sociological grounding in the following Core Studies (Core Studies must be completed at a United Methodist related institution or one approved by the United Methodist University Senate):
    1. Old Testament
    2. New Testament
    3. Theology of Mission
    4. History of the United Methodist Church
    5. Polity and Doctrine of the United Methodist Church
  5. A commitment to continuing the practice of discernment.
  6. A position (compensated or uncompensated) in an approvable ministry of love, justice and service at the time of commissioning. Appointments may include more than one position.
  7. Have the professional training, education and / or certifications for the ministry in which one is called.

Steps in becoming a Deaconess or Home Missioner

  1. The applicant completes and returns the Application for Deaconess/Home Missioner Relationship (standard application form for all mission personnel through the General Board of Global Ministries).
    1. Application for Deaconess/Home Missioner Relationship
    2. Reference Form: PDF: Portable Document File2pp, 94K
    3. Disclosure Statement:PDF: Portable Document File3pp, 42K
    4. For a paper application please write or email the Office of Deaconess and Home Missioner at the address found below.
  2. The Application for Deaconess/Home Missioner Relationship is returned to the Office of Deaconess and Home Missioner for review and distribution to the CCMP - Conference Committee on Mission Personnel in the Annual Conference.
  3. The Application for Deaconess/Home Missioner Relationship is reviewed and a letter is sent to the applicant regarding the action of the Office of Deaconess and Home Missioner.
  4. Upon the recommendation of Mission Personnel, the applicant is invited to the Theology of Mission course (completion of this course fulfills a Core Studies Requirement), staff interview and psychological evaluation.
    1. Persons approved for the deaconess or home missioner relationship will have to satisfactorily complete the following:
      • Staff Interview
      • Psychological Evaluation and Clearance
      • Medical Clearance
      • Preparation and Training
      • Criminal Background Check
  5. If approved, the applicant moves to the candidate stage is matched with a mentor and begins or completes Core Studies.
  6. A Deaconess or Home Missioner must hold local church membership in the annual conference in which they will be serving.
  7. Upon completion or near completion of Core Studies, approval is made of the candidate’s appointment as a future deaconess / home missioner.
  8. The candidate participates in orientation / preparation training as scheduled by the Deaconess and Home Missioner Program Office.
  9. The candidate is commissioned by the General Board of Global Ministries as a Deaconess (lay woman) or Home Missioner (lay man).
  10. The approved appointment is officially recognized with the fixing of the appointment by the bishop of the annual conference in which the Deaconess or Home Missioner will be serving.

For additional information, please contact:
Offices of Deaconess, Home Missioner, and Home Missionary
General Board of Global Ministries
475 Riverside Drive #320
New York , NY 10115
212-870-3850
e-mail: deaconess@gbgm-umc.org