Licensing Information
Description
Licensing is available to those who are in a recognized ministerial position (i.e, pastor, Traveling Itinerant/Teacher, Missionary, Assistant Pastor, Minister of Youth, Minister of Children, Minister of Music, Chaplain, etc.), which involves pulpit type ministry. ASIA HARVEST ALLIANCE licensing qualifies a member to preach, teach, obtain ministerial entrance into hospitals and jails, and to perform most, if not all, of the ministerial functions of a church including baptism, funerals and communion. As state laws pertaining to the solemnization of marriage vary, it is extremely important for licensed ministers to check with the proper authorities in their state of residence to determine if they may legally perform marriages.
Guidelines for Licensing
- The applicant must be a minimum of 25 years of age
- The applicant must be a spirit-filled believer.
- The applicant must be in full-time ministerial position
- The applicant must adhere to the Tenets of Faith
- The applicant must specifically meet at least one of the following ministry requirements:
- Full-time ministry: the applicant’s ministry position is his primary employment and primary source of income.
- Although temporarily supplementing his income through a secular job, the applicant is officially recognized as a minister and is functioning in that recognized capacity on a consistent and continuing basis.
- The applicant must be an active member of a church
- The applicant, if pastoring, must be conducting official church services in a public facility (not in a home) and have an average attendance of thirty to be considered for licensing.
- The applicant, if itinerating, must have conducted a meeting twice a month for the past three months, and must have two meetings a month schedule for the next three months.
Licensing Application Procedure
Those desiring to be licensed must make application and be approved by the GOVERNING COUNCIL of AHA
All completed applications must include:
- Two recent photograph of the applicant. These should be suitable for publication purposes, preferably passport size.
- The completed application form.
- Requirements for :
PASTORS: a letter from another minister attesting to the applicant’s position and/or level of ministerial involvement or a letter signed by 3-5 members of your congregation (not from your
immediate family) attesting to the applicant’s position, church start date, location, service time, and schedule.
SUPPORTIVE MINISTERS: on a church staff: a letter from the pastor attesting to the applicant’s position and /or level of ministerial involvement.
ITINERANTS: a current schedule showing two church or evangelistic meetings per month for the previous three months and two meetings per month for the up comings three months. Also include a letter of recommendation from two pastors for whom you have ministered.
MISSIONARIES: a letter from the head of the ministry with which the missionary will be working or another missionary or responsible individual attesting to the applicant’s working, or another missionary or responsible individual attesting to the applicant’s is a missionary with no stateside address.
Ordination Information
Ordination is available to those who have been in a full-time, fivefold ministry position for a minimum of 5 years. Those qualifying for ordination would be Pastors, Missionaries, Traveling Itinerants/Teachers, Associate Pastors, etc., whose ministry position is their primary employment and primary source of income.
Ordination entitles a member to all the privileges of an ordained minister. This ordination qualifies one to perform all the required ministerial duties of the church, including the solemnization of marriages and conducting baptisms, burials, and communion.
Guidelines for Ordination
- The applicant must be a minimum age of 30 years of age.
- The applicant must adhere to the Tenets of Faith.
- The applicant must have been in full-time ministry for 5 complete consecutive years.
- The applicant must have been in full-time ministry at the time of application for ordination and must have an active pulpit ministry, preaching or teaching in official church or evangelistic services in a minimum of twenty-five(25) times per year, and/or administering the sacerdotal duties of the church (i.e baptism, communion, weddings, funerals) as requirements of their ministerial position.
It is understood that some Assistant/Associate Pastors may not preach 25 times a year, but may still qualify if they are sufficiently involved in other areas of pastoral ministry (counseling, visitation, etc.)
Ordination Application Procedure
Those desiring to be ordained by Asia Harvest Alliance must make application and be approved by the GOVERNING COUNCIL
All completed applications must include:
- Two recent photograph of the applicant. These should be suitable for publication purposes, preferably passport size.
- . The completed application form with registration fee.
- Requirements for :
PASTORS: a letter from another minister attesting to the applicant’s position and/or level of ministerial involvement or a letter signed by 3-5 members of your congregation (not from your immediate family) attesting to the applicant’s position, church start date, location, service time, and schedule.
SUPPORTIVE MINISTERS: on a church staff: a letter from the pastor attesting to the applicant’s position and /or level of ministerial involvement.
ITINERANTS: a current schedule showing two church or evangelistic meetings per month for the previous three months and two meetings per month for the up comings three months. Also include a letter of recommendation from two pastors for whom you have ministered.
MISSIONARIES: a letter from the head of the ministry with which the missionary will be working or another missionary or responsible individual attesting to the missionary’s work.
Yearly Renewal Procedures
Regardless of month issued the Licensing/Ordination must be renewed every year. To renew an ordination the annual membership fee of Rupees 500/- must be submitted with the renewal form.
It is important to maintain active ministry in order to qualify for renewal.
Questions & Answers
We have found that many divergent views exist on some of the basic aspects of ministerial credentials. The following questions and answers are presented so that potential members of Asia Harvest Alliance can understand this organization’s philosophy and approach to licensing and ordination.
What is licensing and ordination?
Ministerial credentials (licensing and ordination) issued by an organization are not substitutes for the calling, the equipping, or the anointing which comes from God. The issuing of credentials represents recognition that a person has been called, equipped, and anointed by God to serve Him in a certain capacity.
When a person is licensed or ordained, he is ordained into full eldership in the Body of Christ. We understand an elder to be one whom the Holy Ghost has made an overseer in the church and has given the responsibility to “feed the church of God” (Acts 20”17, 28). In other words, the term “elder” speaks of one who is a recognized minister of the Gospel; one who preaches and teaches regularly; and one who is responsible for conducting such sacerdotal duties as water baptism, communion, weddings, and funerals.
Eldership in the Body of Christ is not something which is to be conferred lightly or hastily. The Apostle Paul told Timothy to “lay hands suddenly on no man. . .” (1 Tim 5:22). He stated that a bishop (overseer) must not be a novice (1 Ti 3:6) and that even those serving as deacons (a lesser office) should “first be proved” (1 Tim 3:10).
Because of the fact that many young ministers have not had the time to develop their ministry, and yet need some type of recognition in order to perform certain aspects of ministry, Asia Harvest Alliance will issue a ministerial license to those who are in a recognized ministerial position. Ordination is available to those who have been in a full-time, fivefold type of ministry position for a minimum of FIVE consecutive years.
It should be noted that an upgrade from licensing to ordination is not automatic. It is necessary that there be growth and development in the scope and maturity of that ministry in order for an upgrade request to be granted.
Who qualifies to receive ministerial credential?
In one sense, all believers are called to minister. In other words, all believers are called upon to serve God with their entire lives, to live lives that are above reproach, and to share the Gospel with others. All Christians have a holy calling in this sense and are responsible directly to God for fulfilling it.
Ministerial credentials, however, pertain to that segment or group of believers who have been entrusted with certain duties within the fivefold ministry. Their functions and responsibilities differ significantly from those of a volunteer lay worker or a person serving in a helps capacity (Sunday school teacher, prayer group leader, nursing home visitation, etc). The nature of their work also causes them to be recognized by and receive certain benefits from civil authorities.
Not only has the Bible established the spiritual qualifications and standards pertaining to the character and work of one who is to be recognized as a minister, but our own social and legal system has defined what constitutes a minister, clergyman, or pastor from a functional standpoint. It would be improper and misleading for any organization to issue credentials to individuals who do not conform to the generally accepted definition of a minister. It is generally understood that ministerial credentials are granted to an individual who meets the following criteria:
- One who has divine call to public ministry in the fivefold sense of ministry as stated in Ephesians 4:11
- . One who has completed a course of study and preparation for the ministry.
- One who has been set apart by a group recognizing and concurring with this call.
- One who is held responsible by that group for compliance with doctrinal and ethical standards.
- One who has exhibited proper fruit in character and in ministry.
- One who devotes significant time to preaching and teaching the Word of God from a recognized ministerial position.
- One who is required by his ministerial position to administer the ordinances of the church and to conduct weddings and funerals.
- One who derives the majority of his income from ministerial duties, or is at least making definite strides in that direction. Credentials are not necessary for one who intends to maintain a secular career.
The above mentioned criteria do not minimize the importance of the efforts of individuals involved in other forms of “helps” ministry, but they do lay the groundwork for establishing proper qualifications for those who are to receive ministerial licensing or ordination.
With whom should one hold ministerial credentials?
Once satisfactory answers are obtained to these questions, the second consideration is the heart of the member or potential member. The organization should be one to which he can willingly submit himself in loyalty and commitment. In other words, one’s formal connection should reflect one’s heart commitments and his loyalties.
It would be unethical for a person to join a ministerial organization only to be benefited from that group’s credibility when his heart was not at all committed to that group. It would be especially unscrupulous to use such a normal connection to mislead others into believing that the organization condones or endorses doctrines or practices which are not at all in harmony with the organization itself.
If a minister esteems an organization enough to seek its credentials, he should also respect the organization enough to make every effort to attend its functions and show his support through prayer and giving.
Why is it necessary to renew credentials annually? Why is a person who ceases to minister required to return his credentials?
Some organizations ordain “for life”, and that is their prerogative to do so. The board of Asia Harvest Alliance felt it best to make credentials renewable on a yearly basis so that those holding credentials are those who are active in ministry. There is simply no necessity for a person to have credentials who is not in active ministry. When an individual ceases to minister in a qualifying capacity and returns his credentials to Asia Harvest Alliance, he is simply placed on inactive status and the certificate is held in office. The inactive members may request that his credentials as soon as he is in a qualifying position.