Admission Requirements
Candidates for admission shall be male and shall
be:
- Graduates of the Synod's colleges, whose names appear on the roster of the
Synod as commissioned ministers of the Synod, and who have at least eight (8)
years of successful experience as commissioned ministers of the Synod and are
communicant members in good standing of a congregation of the Synod, or;
- Communicant members in good standing of a synodical congregation who are
ordinarily at least 35 years of age at the time of application, ordinarily have
accumulated at least ten (10) years of significant experience directly related
to Word and Sacrament ministry (elder, lector, evangelism caller, Bible class
teacher, etc.) in a Missouri Synod setting, and have ordinarily successfully
completed at least sixty (60) semester hours of college-level coursework.
- Men licensed by their district presidents to perform functions belonging to
the pastoral office.
All candidates will demonstrate spiritual,
emotional, aptitudinal, social and cultural qualifications to serve as a pastor
as identified in Scripture (I Timothy 3 and Titus 1); if married, have a spouse
who is a communicant member in good standing of a synodical congregation and who
offers spousal support and understanding of each partner's respective role and
involvement in ministry.