Online trainings
The Office of Preparation for Ministry/Exams has launched a series of online training opportunities for CPMs, inquirers and candidates.
Process of Preparing for Ministry:
The series begins with “Cycles of Discernment.” The process leading to ordination to the ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church can sometimes seem a bewildering and endless sequence of disconnected tasks. This workshop will give you insight into essential rhythms of discernment and preparation that not only bring order to this process but underlie the life of ministry itself.
“Journey into Ministry” covers the process that may lead to ordination to the ministry of word and sacrament or to alternate forms of ministry within the church. It introduces each stage of the formal preparation for ministry procedure with the PC(USA) and the specific purposes of each stage.
“A Critical Decision: The Transition from Inquiry to Candidacy” explores the different purposes of the inquiry and candidacy phases of the preparation for ministry process with the Presbyterian Church and will suggest issues that need to be explored by inquirers, their sessions and their presbytery committee when considering whether to recommend an inquirer be enrolled as a candidate.
"Alternative Assessment of Competency" reviews both the range of options available to provide special accommodations within the standard examination process and the possibilities and means for approving alternative means of demonstrating ministry competency in fulfillment of Book of Order requirements.
Examination Preparation Tools:
“Tips for Writing the Ords” presents a step-by-step method for analyzing the kinds of questions that appear in the senior ordination examinations in the areas of Theological Competence, Worship and Sacraments, Church Polity and Bible Exegesis. This method follows the same system used by the PCCEC to train the readers who evaluate the exams. The module includes opportunities to try out the method using interactive reviews of questions from recent ordination exams in all subject areas.
“Practicing the Tips” provides access to just the practice exercises from the “Tips for Writing the Ords.” It is designed for those who would like either to review the exercises or to complete the practice sections on specific exam subject areas that may have been bypassed the first time one used the “Tips” web-ucation module. If you have completed the training portion of “Tips for Writing the Ords,” then revisit the practice sections.
“Understanding the Structure of the Ords” is a companion piece to “Tips for Writing the Ords.” This training provides a brief overview of the organization and all the types of questions that appear in each subject area of the senior ordination exams. It is designed so that you can either review all four subject areas, or navigate to specific subject areas that are of particular interest to you.
"Understanding the Bible Content Examination" provides a review of the role of the BCE in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s preparation for ministry process and some suggestions on the best ways to prepare for taking the test — ways that will not only assist you in fulfilling this requirement but also strengthen your ministry for years to come.
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Comments
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I am thankful for this resource. After reviewing the "presentations" I feel equally empowered and informed about the Senior Ordination Exam process. Many Thanks to the Office of Preparation for Ministry
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As a second time reader I found the tips on reading the exam questions very relevant to the evaluation of the answers. Carefully parsing out the segments of the question will enable me to be more helpful and targeted in writing my responses to the writer.
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Thank you for your hard work in preparing these tips. This will be my 3rd year of reading the exams and I can see where these tips on how to read the questions will be most helpful to exam takers and to readers alike. So many papers were marked down because the exam taker did not read the question carefully. Studying the resources for 3-4 weeks ahead of reading the exams also gives the readers a head start in knowing the content that we will be looking for; these tips will save us time in marking up the questions as to the specifics and how many we want to find. Thanks.
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Thank you. I did not pass one of the exams in January because I misunderstood a question. This practice is very helpful, and helps clarify what is being asked.
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It was very helpful over all. Thanks for all your hard work!