The Free Church of England

Exploring Ministry
To offer public ministry in the Free Church of England (FCE) means that you must be called, equipped and trained.
The call is from God and however secure you may be in the fact that God’s call is real to you, others must discern
that they perceive it too. Being equipped for ministry will mean some theological training and most probably
securing a recognised qualification appropriate to your experience and ability. Training is learning the craft of
ministry.

Hopefully, this step-by-step introduction will help you begin the process and to discover, together with others,
what God may have planned for you.

As an Episcopal Church, the ministry of the Bishop is key to the

proper order of the Church. If you are to have a ministry in the
1 Initial Discussion with the Bishop FCE it will be the Bishop who ordains you and it will be the
Bishop who will license you to any ministry in the Church. The
initial conversation with the Bishop is informal, but will cover
your story, your Christian commitment and your sense of call. If
all goes well then the process continues and if there any issues
that arise they will be addressed before you move to the next
Not taken further stage.

Application Form
The form is sent to you by the Bishop and you must fill it in fully,
Submission of Application Form,
2 CV & Christian Journey
honestly and accurately. It should be accompanied by the
‘Outline of your Christian journey’ and your ‘CV’. These forms
will be kept by the Bishop and the General Secretary and will
only be used as a record of your exploration of and training in
ministry.

Outline of Your Christian Journey

This is more than just telling your story: it is about God and you.
What is your background? Are you cradle Christian, baptised and
fully engaged with the Church for the whole of your life or are
you a convert – perhaps from a different faith or none – and how
did that happen? In this written piece, please explore how you
worship, how you pray and how you sustain your faith. What do
you do to pursue the daily discipline of reading the Bible and
praying? What is your involvement with the local Church? How
important are the Sacraments to you? Are there any key people
who have influenced your faith? What have you read in the past
six months and how has that informed or challenged you? Do
others say that they think you are called to public ministry? For
those who are married, or are engaged to be married, there
should also be some indication of the level of support you will
receive from your wife or fiancée for both your training and in
your ministry. These are just suggestions – it is your story and we
look forward to reading it.
 CV
Your Curriculum Vitae is the formal record of your life. Here you
should tell us your contact details (including address, telephone
and email); your date of birth; your national insurance number; if
you have a full and clean driving licence; if you are married and if
you have any children. You then give details of your academic
history: GCSEs (or equivalent); A Levels; Degrees, stating the
places you studied, the subjects and the award and class of
award. You would next list any professional qualifications or
memberships. Your employment history is next, with the most
recent first and working backwards. You finish by listing and
hobbies or interests. This should give a good outline of what you
have done and where your life is to date.

The Bishop is always enthusiastic to get the view of his senior

colleagues on any potential candidates. Your documents will be
Documents Assessed by FCE
3 Senior Team
shared with senior colleagues and their advice sought. This is the
final part of the informal exploration of your call to ministry and
those involved will report back to the Bishop with advice about
how (or if) the process carries on.

Not taken further

References Taken Up
References Taken Up If the advice is positive, references will be sought in preparation
4 Panel Interview (1)
for an interview. As part of the application form you will have
been asked to supply the details of three referees. These must
be people who know you well and can make detailed comments
about you, your personality and at least two should be able to
make informed comments on your Christian life. Ordinarily, at
least one referee should be your minister: if he is not listed, he
will be contacted as a matter of course (unless you share with us
specific and detailed reasons why this is something you would
rather we did not do).

Panel Interview (1)

The Bishop asks for the opinion of others, both clergy and lay
people, as he prepares to make a decision about your future
ministry. This panel will explore every aspect of your life, faith and
call and will discuss your application with you and then between
themselves. The interview will ideally be face to face, but may
happen virtually if circumstances require. The panel will make a
recommendation to the Bishop, indicating whether the panel
supports your ordination or not. If the answer is positive, and the
Bishop agrees, then you will be recognised as an FCE ordinand.

5 Bishop’s Decision

Not taken further

 Assessment of Training Needs
The FCE has agreed a training partnership with the London
6 Assess Training Needs School of Theology. Some candidates have no formal education
in theology and others already hold post-graduate degrees. The
Bishop, in consultation with his Examining Chaplain and others,
will recommend what courses should be taken and over what
period.

Already ordained or
No theological
has theological
qualification
qualification

Theological Training
Appropriate The London School of Theology has a variety of courses at
6a theological course Certificate, Diploma, Degree and Post-Graduate levels, all of
which can be taken either in-person or on-line. Candidates
without an existing theological qualification will normally be
directed to one of these courses. You will be advised and
supported through this part of your preparation.

Alongside any theological training you may already have had or

will be receiving, you will need to become familiar with the
7 Inculturation in the FCE. Mentor history, purpose and distinctiveness of the FCE. This may be
through some guided reading, or more formal lessons, or
through placements. You will need to be assured that the FCE is
somewhere you can live honestly and the FCE needs to know
that you will fit in.

This interview takes place towards the end of your training and is
intended to assess how you have progressed and matured, both
8 Panel Interview (2) in terms of academic knowledge and of fidelity to ministry in the
FCE. Possible future training posts may also be discussed.

It is the Bishop who decides whether or not you will be ordained

and where your training post will be. He will communicate that
9 Bishop’s Decision to you and then must report his intention to General Council
before the actual ordination.

Not taken further

 Ordination to the Diaconate
Admission to each of the three Orders of ministry (deacon,
Ordination to the Diaconate
presbyter, bishop) is by laying on of hands of a bishop, following
10 Assigned to Training Post
an authorised rite. The Diaconate is the first of these orders of
ministry, all of which originate in the New Testament. You will be
and Mentor guided through the service in preparation for the day. Your
family, friends and those who have shared your Christian journey
with will be enthusiastic about sharing this day with you.

Training post
The FCE offers a number of approaches to ministry. It can be
stipendiary (paid) or non-stipendiary (self-supporting);
accommodation may be provided, or it may be that you have
your own home. Exactly what your training post will look like will
be discussed during the later stages of your preparation. As a
Deacon you are a clergyman but are restricted in some respects
(presiding at the Eucharist or giving a blessing, for instance).
During this period, you will be supported, and the Bishop will
receive regular reports on your progress. Ordinarily, you will
serve as a Deacon for a year, but the Bishop will determine, in
discussion with you, the term of this stage of your ministry (some
opt to be Permanent Deacons).

The purpose of this interview is to assess whether you are ready

to proceed to ordination as a Presbyter. In many ways, this Panel
11 Panel Interview (3) Interview is like the previous one, except that it will have taken
references from those to whom you have ministered. It will also
explore what you believe to be both your strengths and
weaknesses in your ministry and whether you have any specific
further training needs. The panel will make a further
recommendation to the Bishop who will make his decision and, if
appropriate, report his intention to ordain you to the
Presbyterate to the General Council.

12 Bishop’s Decision

This is the culmination and fulfilment of your call to ministry, the

result of a great deal of prayer, questioning, training and hard
13 Ordination to the Presbyterate work. The challenge then is to become the minister God has
called you to be. This will probably initially mean continuing in
your training post before eventually transferring to another post
where you will have greater responsibility.

The Free Church of England www.fcofe.org.uk