Seeking a Call FAQ

If you are an Authorized Minister in the United Church of Christ seeking a call in the Northern California Nevada Conference, welcome!

This page seeks to introduce these three most common processes for Authorized Ministry leadership in our Conference, in the form of answers to frequently asked (and anticipated!) questions. However, if you are a leader who has a question not answered here, please be in touch with one of our helpful and knowledgeable Conference staff members who will seek to answer your question.

Q: I am an Authorized Minister in the United Church of Christ and notice an opportunity in the Northern California Nevada Conference. What should I do to have my Ministerial Profile forwarded to a search committee? What should I know about how your process differs from other Conferences?

A: First, ensure that we are activated in the Ministerial Profiles Portal to receive your profile. (In UCC-speak, we’re “California, Nevada Northern.”) Then, send an e-mail to the Search & Call Desk to request your profile be forwarded to the specific opportunity you see. We will confirm with you that your profile is forwarded. Then the church Search Committee will be in contact with you about your status as a candidate in consideration for the ministry position. An applicant during their discernment they may wish to ask general questions of the Associate Conference Minister supporting that particular search committee, and this is encouraged after conversations have begun with the Local Church.

Q: I am an Authorized Minister in the United Church of Christ and want to talk with Conference staff about how my ministry passions, skills, and experience may be put to use as I network for my search process.

A: You have our prayers as you engage in Search & Call. Our staff regularly searches through the Snapshot database for Authorized Ministers who have particular gifts as we make staff recommendations to search committees. We encourage you to ensure that your Snapshot is an accurate reflection through keywords and skills inventories. Staff members are happy to have a brief conversation about ministry in the Conference broadly, but generally refrain from conversations about what’s “coming up.” Once you see an Employment Opportunity that stirs your spirit, email the Search & Call Desk to forward your profile.

Q: I am attracted to the United Church of Christ from another or no faith tradition, and I am interested in the process for Authorization. What can you tell me?

A: Authorized Ministry in and on behalf of the United Church of Christ is grounded in the Local Church. If you are not yet a member of a Local Church, that is your first step. Remember: if you’ve attended one worship service in a United Church of Christ congregation, you’ve attended one worship service in a United Church of Christ congregation. We are one at font and table, and our diverse expressions of encountering the Divine uphold our greatest strength! Take some time to explore as many UCC congregations near you as you can before you decide on a place to put down roots.

Once you have joined a Local Church, have a conversation with your pastor and moderator about your discernment. We believe that a call to Authorized Ministry is a conversation within a local community, including more than the individual perceiving a call and God. In fact, we believe this so much that this conversation needs to happen for at least one year before our Committee on Ministry will consider receiving an individual as a Member in Discernment upon recommendation of a Local Church — usually this time is much longer than one year.

The formal Member in Discernment process is a wider covenant community, including the individual, their Local Church, and the Conference Committee on Ministry. Through a course of formation that includes theological education, study in the history and polity of the United Church of Christ, intentional mentorship, constructive theological articulation (usually through papers), and nurture, a Member in Discernment (MID) is engaged in a multi-year process of self-discovery and community affirmation as their call is explored. Sometimes this process results in the MID withdrawing from the process because their understanding of call changes; other times the process results in the Committee on Ministry respectfully and prayerfully telling the MID that their call to ministry is not within the authorization parameters in and on behalf of the United Church of Christ. And, of course, there are the many times where this process culminates in a MID being recommended for ordination as an Authorized Minister in and on behalf of the United Church of Christ.

If you’ve already begun this conversation with your pastor and would like an additional discussion partner, your Associate Conference Minister is a great resource. View our staff directory to be in touch with them.

Q: I am an ordained minister in another denomination, not in Full Communion, interested in exploring ministry in the United Church of Christ by transferring my credentials. With whom can I speak?

A: We are always excited to be a conversation partner in your discernment. Our Associate Conference Minister appointed for ecumenical relationships is Daniel Ross-Jones; he is your first point of contact. In the United Church of Christ, the process of ministerial transfer is called Privilege of Call. It is often shorter than that of a Member in Discernment (without ordination) seeking Authorization, but no less rigorous. An individual discerning Privilege of Call is encouraged to particularly discuss this with their pastor early on in their discernment.

Q: I am an ordained minister with standing in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) who does not have Ordained Ministerial Partner Standing (OMPS) in the United Church of Christ and notice an opportunity in the Northern California Nevada Conference. What should I do to have my ministerial profile forwarded to a search committee?

A: You will need to contact the minister for search and call in your Regional Church office to forward your ministerial profile to the ACM staffing the search. They are indicated in the sidebar of the posting on Employment Opportunities. You should also e-mail that person yourself to let them know which opportunity to which you are applying. By receiving your ministerial profile from your Regional Minister, we are able to be assured of your good Standing in the DOC and can forward your profile to the searching church usually within the same week. The search committee is responsible to follow-up with you regarding their interest.

Q: I am an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada who does not have Ordained Ministerial Partner Standing (OMPS) in the United Church of Christ and notice an opportunity in the Northern California Nevada Conference. What should I do to be considered?

A: If you are currently resident in Canada, you are encouraged to contact our Conference Minister, the Rev. Dr. Diane Weible, early on in your discernment. You will need to provide a letter of good standing from your United Church of Canada Regional Council Personnel Minister, a copy of your Ministry Personnel CV, a current Level 2 Police Records Check (within the previous 6 months), and a personal statement of interest in serving in the United Church of Christ and how your journey of faith relates to ministry in the United Church of Christ. Additionally, if you have resided in the United States at any point in the previous seven years, an Oxford Document criminal background check is also required. Submit all of this documentation to the Search & Call Desk. Please note that you also must have been serving as an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada for at least three years. Once you have fulfilled the requirements, your Ministry Personnel CV will be forwarded and the search committee is responsible to follow-up with you regarding their interest. Please note: immigration processes are continuously changing in the United States. It is incumbent upon the searching minister to make themselves aware of the requirements. The Conference is not equipped, logistically or by the faith and order of the United Church of Christ, to sponsor an employment visa for an international minister.

Q: I am an ordained minister with standing in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) or the United Church of Canada who has ordained ministerial partner standing (OMPS) in the United Church of Christ and notice an opportunity in the Northern California Nevada Conference. What should I do to apply?

A: Complete a United Church of Christ Ministerial Profile through our Profiles Portal. Activate our Conference (“California, Nevada Northern” in UCC-speak) to receive your profile. Upon validation by the appropriate UCC Conference validator for where you currently hold OMPS, your profile will be active in NCNC. E-mail the Search & Call Desk to ask the profile be forwarded to the searching setting. Important: if you have OMPS, you must complete a UCC Ministerial Profile. We cannot forward a DOC or UC-Canada profile for those with OMPS in the United Church of Christ.

Q: I am a Minister of Word and Sacrament rostered in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and notice an opportunity in the Northern California Nevada Conference. What should I do to have my Rostered Leader Profile forwarded to a search committee?

A: You will need to contact the Call Process Administrator in your Synod to forward your RLP to to the ACM staffing the search. They are indicated in the sidebar of the posting on Employment Opportunities. You should also e-mail that person yourself to let them know which opportunity to which you are applying. By receiving your ministerial profile from your Call Process Administrator, we are able to be assured of your good Standing in the ELCA. Our Conference Minister will need to review your RLP and consent to forwarding it to a particular search committee. Following that clear response, your RLP is forwarded and the search committee is responsible to follow-up with you regarding their interest.

Q: I am a Teaching Elder/Minister of Word and Sacrament member of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and notice an opportunity in the Northern California Nevada Conference. What should I do to have my Personal Information Form forwarded to a search committee?

A: You will need to contact your Presbytery’s Stated Clerk to forward your PIF to the ACM staffing the search. They are indicated in the sidebar of the posting on Employment Opportunities. You should also e-mail that person yourself to let them know which opportunity to which you are applying. By receiving your ministerial profile from your Stated Clerk, we are able to be assured of your good Standing in the PCUSA. Our Conference Minister will need to review your PIF and consent to forwarding it to a particular search committee. Following that clear response, your PIF is forwarded and the search committee is responsible to follow-up with you regarding their interest.

Q: I am a minister member of the Reformed Church in America and notice an opportunity in the Northern California Nevada Conference. What should I do to have my minister’s profile forwarded to a search committee?

A: You will need to contact Ministry Services at your national office to forward your minister’s profile to to the ACM staffing the search. They are indicated in the sidebar of the posting on Employment Opportunities. You should also e-mail that person yourself to let them know which opportunity to which you are applying. By receiving your ministerial profile from your national office, we are able to be assured of your good Standing in the RCA. Our Conference Minister will need to review your minister’s profile and consent to forwarding it to a particular search committee. Following that clear response, your minister’s profile is forwarded and the search committee is responsible to follow-up with you regarding their interest.

Q: I am an ordained minister, pastor, or other authorized leader in any other denomination and notice an opportunity in the Northern California Nevada Conference. What should I do to be considered?

A: Our covenantal polity precludes us from forwarding application materials from ministers in any other denomination but our own or our Full Communion Partners listed above (Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (USA), Reformed Church in America, and United Church of Canada). Individual settings may consider applicants from other denominations, particularly if they are federated with another denomination (i.e. Christian Congregational Church of Samoa, Congregational Church of American Samoa, United Methodist Church, Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, Unitarian Universalist Association) or have a historical connection with an international denomination as a migrant church (i.e. United Church of Christ – Congregational in the Marshall Islands, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, and others). This will be noted on their listing on Employment Opportunities. If such a notation is present and you are interested, you must contact that search committee directly using the details provided; they have chosen to conduct their own search outside of the covenantal partnerships and the Conference is not involved beyond posting their listing. If such a notation is not present, your application will not be considered.