1. Goals of Candidacy Studies Mentor Responsibilities Assessing Candidates
This provides an overview of the goals of candidacy studies, the candidacy mentor responsibilities, and the level at which candidates for certification are assessed.

2. Goals of Candidacy Studies
Annual Conference
Candidate
Discerning environment
Offer resources
Pastoral care
Examine applicants
Approve those with potential for effectiveness
Explore options
Understand process
Identify strengths and needs for development
Respond faithfully to God’s call
Regardless of how your conference implements candidacy mentoring (whether that’s a one-on-one relationship or implemented in groups), there are common goals and a common intent for candidacy:
For the candidate:
Explore the vocational options of lay, licensed, and ordained ministry in the UMC, and understand personal and professional ministry development needed in order to reach decisions that best express a faithful response to God's call.
Respond to God’s call in a way that is faithful to the candidate’s gifts and grace, while partnering with the annual conference to discern ways to serve in ministry.
For the annual conference:
Provide the environment and opportunity to discern God’s call.
Offer thoughtful resources and settings to examine and affirm personal and vocational gifts and choices, whether for lay, licensed, or ordained ministry.
Enable the church to provide pastoral care to candidates and their families, friends, and ministry settings.
Examine the calling, grace, gifts, and potential effectiveness of those who present themselves as candidates for lay, licensed, or ordained ministry.
Enlist, assess, encourage, and recommend effective candidates and clergy leaders to serve the UMC.
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3. Candidacy is… Candidacy is…
A chance for exploration A continuation of a spiritual journey A time for discernment

4. Organization of Candidacy Studies
Ministry of All Christians
Gifts
Grace
Fruit
Candidacy is built upon the discernment of the ministry of all Christians
Grace – … the evidence of a candidate’s call to licensed or ordained ministry and their relationship to God.
Gifts – … the talents they bring to licensed or ordained ministry and their promise for leadership.
Fruit – … the evidence of the Holy Spirit in their relationships and work.

5. Relationships
The heart of candidacy is in the deepening relationship with God and in the personal relationships that are established with the persons you meet in each step of candidacy. The most important of these relationships will probably be with the candidacy mentor.
The candidacy mentoring relationship is the unique relationship in the candidacy process that gives candidates the opportunity to explore their calling and to ask questions in a non-evaluative setting. The candidacy mentor relationship is unique from the dCOM and BOM relationship BECAUSE it is non-evaluative.

6. The Candidacy Mentor
Consultant Co-discerner Catalyst All conversations and information are confidential.
The Candidacy Mentor is a consultant to the candidate; engages in discernment with the candidate and can be a catalyst in helping candidates understanding and move through the candidacy process.
The uniqueness of this relationship hinges on the need for conversations to remain confidential – we will talk later about how the mentor provides a mentoring report to the district committee.
BOD, Par. 349

7. Mentor Responsibilities
Contact and meet with candidate
Develop mutual covenant
Assist candidate in enrolling in OCAS
Work with the resources adopted by your BOM
Provide information for and assistance with the psychological assessment process
Assist candidate in preparing for dCOM interviews
Submit annual mentor report to dCOM
Maintain accurate records
Ensure confidentiality as agreed upon and appropriate for the mentoring process
Candidacy Mentor Manual – pp. 16, 17
Located under the Mentor tab at
Mentors are responsible for making sure the candidate knows what they need to know about the process. They aren’t responsible for managing the candidate’s process, but for serving as a guide.

8. Foundational Elements
Covenant
Spiritual Formation
Servant Leadership
Foundational Elements - Candidacy studies revolve around three elements that will be evident in the personal relationships developed during candidacy studies.
Covenant – In our Christian context, covenant is an unconditional vow or commitment to a relationship.
The candidacy mentor and the candidate covenants with each other.
As they seek to create mutual covenants, if either discovers that is not a good match, they may consult with the candidacy registrar about the situation and explore alternate possibilities.
pp. 12/13 in The Candidacy Guidebook (Fulfilling God’s Call) provides the outlines you will need for making a covenant talking through questions and other information.
Spiritual Formation - John Wesley talked about “formation for holiness of heart and life,” growing in one’s love of God (heart) and love of neighbor and all creation (life). Growth in faith has to do with all of life.
Candidacy studies are intended to assist the candidate in being formed after the likeness of Christ.
Servant Leadership - In candidacy study, one has an opportunity to work with the candidacy mentor and others to discover and assess the grace, gifts, and fruit that demonstrates promise for servant leadership through licensed or ordained ministry.

9. Competency, Readiness, and Effectiveness
The candidacy process focuses on fitness. Competence, readiness, and effectiveness have developed as one progressed through candidacy studies and will continue to develop in their practice of ministry, but they are based on one’s fitness for licensed or ordained ministry. A primary purpose of candidacy is to help both the candidate and the church assess the candidate’s fitness (potential) for licensed or ordained ministry.
Important to keep in mind the assessment level for candidacy.
Through out the candidacy/ordination process, candidates will be assessed by the dCOM and BOM for different levels of readiness and effectiveness.
The candidacy process assesses for fitness (or potential) for licensed or ordained ministry. As the application process moves toward provisional membership and ordination we will expect candidates to demonstrate their readiness to serve and their effectiveness in ministry, but that is not a requirement of becoming a certified candidate.
It’s important to keep that in mind as you prepare to meet with and evaluate candidates at different steps along the way.

10. Websites BOM Handbook BOM Webpage
BOM Webpage
Candidacy Forms
BOM/dCOM training resources
Handbook on Ministry Interpretation “Red Book”
Brochures
Ministry of… (Deacon, Elder, Local Pastor, Chaplain)
Navigating the Candidacy Process
Online Candidacy Application System (OCAS)
canapply.gbhem.org (do not use “www”)

11. For more information: Rev. Meg Lassiat
Director of Candidacy, Mentoring, and Conference Relations
@meglassiat