How Do I Become a UPCI Minister? by David K. Bernard Podcast recording (no venue stated in the delivered transcript) Kind: teaching Scripture: 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1 Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/david-k-bernard--how-do-i-become-a-upci-minister Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page. Free to copy and share with attribution. ------------------------------------------------------------ well first of all ministerial credentials are very important in fulfilling scripture the principles that we find in the New Testament so we do see throughout the whole Bible God calls people to leadership positions the New Testament we see God calls people to preach the gospel the New Testament has qualifications for those who are called a priest we find them in first Timothy 3 we find them in Titus 1. the New Testament gives examples of how ministers should be endorsed by God but also by the church when when they're sent out we also find what we might call recommendations or commendations where you see this in the letters of Paul you see this in letters of John where they will write and say I'm com sending this preacher to you I receive them support them I commend them they're a good Minister also we find ministerial discipline or removal recommendation likewise examples for the writings the letters of Paul and John I do not recommend this Minister don't receive them they're divisive they're in false Doctrine I'm warning you about them so uh those are the principles that we see the New Testament does not give us a detailed structure for the local church or for the church at large and I think that's intentional because that can vary what's proper or most beneficial can vary greatly depending on your culture the country the time period you're in and so the Bible doesn't give us one rigid structure of how to have a local church or one structure to how to have a national church but it gives these principles I've just described and they're principles of leadership sending a missionaries collecting offerings having conferences to decide major issues all that's in the New Testament I've written a book that describes this called the Apostolic Church in the 21st century and that's one of the topics it discusses is church government so we as the upci are charged with trying to implement that in a practical way in our own context so ministerial credentials are not merely our opinion even though the detail and the specific structure you described is is uh ours not not found the Bible but it's our attempt to fulfill what I've just described to make sure people are qualified that they're sent by the church um that they have their proper recommendation if there's a problem that there's appropriate discipline or withdrawal recommendation and that's what ministerial credentials essentially do they say you are qualified you've or when they're removed you are not qualified you do not represent us and so I think they're biblical the reason why we have three levels is we're trying to fulfill what uh the the description we have in first Timothy and Titus that we're not supposed to ordain a novice we're not supposed to choose people that aren't qualified so we start by saying first of all if you are and and what we we talk about a minister of course everyone should have a minister Ministry in the sense of a place of service but what we're more specifically talking about the Bible says minister of the Gospel so we're talking about those who are called to preach teach lead the church those are the people that we would Grant ministerial credentials to so everyone is a servant everyone is a minister but only certain people are called to preach slash teach slash lead the church those are the ones that we would give upci ministerial credentials there's actually a preliminary step that is not part of the upci structure but we specifically say that a local Pastor can grant someone a Ministry certificate a Christian Ministry certificate which authorizes them to minister within the local church under the pastor which can be very useful for various purposes such as Hospital visitation or jail Ministry giving credentials within the city but it's not uh ministerial credentials with the upci as the organization so for some people that might be the only thing they need because their Ministry is only in that sort of context and perhaps they're not even qualified to go further with upci credentials because of you know situations either temporarily not qualified because they're not ready or maybe because of a situation like a divorce or a marriage that happened after they came to the Lord they wouldn't qualify for upci credentials but they could still be used in the discretion of the local Pastor or sometimes this becomes a preliminary step where the pastor wants them to to get Pro to prove themselves locally before he even recommends them to the upside so that's in the option of the local pastor and local church to have a a Ministry a Christian Ministry certificate which we might call Lay Ministry no no official status with upci but then we Grant local license which as its title signifies you're working under the local Pastor it's like a training and again it might be all that a person needs but we generally think of it as preparation the next step is called General license which as its term signifies you can fulfill any ministerial position so if someone is going to be a pastor a senior pastor of a local church they're supposed to attain the level of General license if they haven't yet and they get elected as Pastor they're supposed to as soon as possible get qualified the general license then ordination is the third and final step is the full proof of ministry and unfortunately some people just seem to stop at General and don't see the significance but I think there there is not only an organizational significance because ordination is required for many positions and boards and committees and involvements but ordination is also a spiritual thing where I think the Lord gives a special anointing and confirmation on your call so I think it shouldn't be seen as optional it should be seen as if I truly am called to preach and feel that I need credentials with upci I should go through the steps of local General until I reach ordination so my summary is this if you're working within the context of the upci and you feel called to preach and it could be broad some people um it they might have a counseling Ministry but yet they're also a Teaching Ministry and they're also working in a pastoral context well so that's why I say preach slash teach slash lead if you feel that call to preach the gospel then you should seek Minister credentials and once you get ministerial credentials you should work to get from local to General until ordination I think that's that's the will of God I believe as we discussed in a previous segment uh whatever God says whatever you buy on Earth will be bound in heaven whatever you loose on Earth or be loose in heaven God gives authority to the church to say this person is in your church feels called to preach whatever plan you uh Implement to fulfill these scriptural qualifications I will back you up and I will anoint them so I do believe it's the will of God and it's a scriptural thing that you would go from local General to ordination if you are truly called of God to preach the gospel we can't call you but um you should qualify yourselves according to the guidelines that we've set forth now some people say well I can preach I don't need a license I need credentials what's the point well uh it's it's accountability it's credibility it's submission to Authority it's um being known your Doctrine is examined your life is example is known and and uh is uh identified among us and it also gives you the ability to participate through voting and and participation in other ways serving in various capacities so I do believe it is important even though you could get opportunities to preach without it if you're truly called to preach then you should seek the appropriate credentials to fulfill scriptural uh guidelines and to be accountable to be submissive and also to be an influence to be a participant now uh if someone says well I think I'm called and where do I start will you start with your local pastor the pastor that's over you in the Lord that guides you admonishes you he can help you discern if you're truly called to preach the gospel and if you are in what capacity and if so would a Christian Ministry a certificate in your local church suffice with local license suffice if you go up through a Bible College training program you can go you can go past local license directly to General so you might want to consider going to one of our Bible colleges ocean college or urson Graduate School of Theology we also have other training ministerial training programs that can be used such as purpose Institute um and see csti and the Genesis Institute so we we have various tracks that you can follow for training or the standard training is Ministry Central the one website has all the digital books and videos that you need for local licensed General license ordination but where do you get started you start with your pastor you get guidance if he feels you're ready to apply then we have a new online application process and it will go with your pastor's endorsement to the district and the district will help you follow the guidelines but then you'll need to meet all the qualifications educationally we have preaching qualifications you must have experience in preaching the gospel and then you must meet the district board for a personal interview so it's an exciting thing we need more preachers but we need preachers who are qualified who are accountable who are who are credible who are accredited and so this is our plan to try to put Ministers of the Gospel in the field and I'm happy to tell you we now have in the U.S and Canada our home base we have over well over 11 000 credential ministers in the United Pentecostal Church International