The preparation for ministry process
In the preparation for ministry process, inquirers and candidates discern their calling to ministry, walking alongside members of the church and the Presbytery.
Several candidates sponsored by First Church have been certified ready to receive a call by the Presbytery in past years. Process completers have gone on to serve as ministers in pastoral ministry at First Church, churches in other cities and denominations, and some are called to other institutions and roles. Two past completers, Joel Wood and Michael Homan, have gone on to serve congregations outside of First Church, and Michael currently works in non-profit fund development.
Joel was certified in 2015 and ordained in 2016 at First Church Tulsa, and he is now pastor at First Presbyterian Church—Sand Springs. Michael, certified in 2007, served as pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Tulsa and in Houston and is now Director of Development at Houston Methodist Hospital Foundation.
Looking back, each completer affirms how the preparation process provided an invaluable opportunity to train in discernment while at the same time noting that the process is just one small part of the preparation for all that ministry takes. Since completing the process, both Michael and Joel found they had to gain skills in areas the process did not cover and see ministry as a continual process of preparation and reformation.
For Joel, discernment meant learning to believe what his family, friends, and fellow youth ministry leaders already knew that he was called to pastoral ministry. Joel studied music at ORU and jokes that he was, “used to working with eight letters,” and he thought he would prove them wrong in the process. Instead, he excelled and thrived through the academic rigors of seminary and had no trouble meeting the requirements of the preparation process.
While seminary taught Joel new things about himself and his abilities to glorify God, he found the preparation process to be rather perfunctory. Despite his own experience of the process, Joel maintains that it is an opportunity to push candidates to familiarize themselves with different varieties of Christian churches and approaches to worship. He completed the process while remaining in familiar church settings–which for Joel meant large, multi-pastor, reformed churches. Not satisfied with recognizing an opportunity for growth and walking away, Joel has until recently served as the chair of the EOP's Committee on Preparation for Ministry. In this role, he sought to guide candidates to recognize their strengths and weaknesses and use this perspective to inform their growth.
Since completing the process himself, Joel has been positively challenged by accepting the call to the sole pastorship at First Presbyterian Church Sand Springs. He states, “as a solo pastor, you have to do it all. You have to get better and face things that you might not be good at.” The transition to a sole pastor at a smaller church has had a profound effect on how he ministers. When preaching to a small congregation, Joel observes, “you know every face and you can take a more conversational approach; you can make references on a personal level that everyone in the congregation can understand.”
Currently working toward his Doctor of Ministry (DMin) degree through a joint program with Pittsburgh Seminary and the University of Edinburgh, Joel seeks to address challenges of the state of culture and the church by taking a storytelling approach in worship including sermons, liturgy, and experiential practice. Joel began a trial of this approach in October in Sand Springs.
For another completer of the preparation process from First Church, Michael Homan, the process was the epitome of tutelage and hospitality.
Hospitality, Michael states, means, “making room for someone when there is no obligation to do so,” and members of the Chancel Choir, Preparation Committee and church leadership made this room for him throughout. While Michael was interning, pastors Dr. Miller and Vince King practiced the “with me” principle, which meant he went along with his mentors on hospital visits and session meetings.
Because he was completing his seminary education at Oral Roberts University, an institution outside of the Reformed tradition, the preparation process required Michael to study one-on-one with Reformed ministers to ensure he was well-versed in Reformed theology. He later focused his DMin study on the intersection of Faith and Work, spurred by Dutch Reformed theologian Abraham Kuyper’s concept of “sphere sovereignty,” which offers a framework for understanding how to integrate faith and work outside of the Church.
God is sovereign over all the varied spheres of life, Michael maintains, and a calling to serve in one sphere may not be permanent. After shepherding First Presbyterian Church —Houston through the pressures of a major denominational split, he left pastoral ministry to enter fund development for the Houston Methodist Hospital Foundation where his service lines include Spiritual Care, Behavioral Health, and Arts/Health Integration. As a pastor, he learned that the preparation for ministry process could better prepare candidates for ministry by providing training in fund-raising for the church. Philanthropy is not typically a required class in seminary, nor is it a topic covered by the process although it is a crucial aspect of what a pastor does for a church. Having noticed a lack of training in fundraising in the preparation for ministry process, it is now something that Michael does full time.
The preparation process and pastoral ministry, Michael says, taught him “how to work with diverse personalities and appreciate that everyone is unique and that some are more high maintenance than others, whether in a congregation or in a board room.” Pastoral ministry also taught Michael, “a counselor needs a counselor,” and how many pastors suffer in silence in what can be a “fishbowl” environment, without having developed emotionally healthy practices, boundaries, and coping strategies. He asks for prayers and encouragement for pastors and for their growth in supportive relationships—both within the church and other of God’s spheres.
Other past completers of the process not mentioned in this article series include:
Vince King – EOP certified Ready to Receive a Call in 2007. Called to Camp Loughridge from 2007 to 2012, and Yale Avenue Presbyterian Church in Tulsa from 2009 to 2012. Currently serves as Vice President of Fusion Sales for McElroy Manufacturing.
James Estes – Certified Ready to Receive a Call in 2010. Called to First Presbyterian Church in Tulsa.
Olivia Lane Berman – Certified Ready to Receive a Call in 2013. Called to Tulsa’s Southminster Presbyterian Church.
Michael Gewecke – Certified Ready to Receive a Call in 2013. Called to First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake, Iowa.
Joshua Miles – Elected to be ordained in the Southern Baptist Convention in Louisville, Kentucky in 2014.
Daniel Wambugu Gachungi – Certified Ready to Receive a Call as a Commissioned Ruling Elder in 2013 and as a Teaching Elder in 2016. Called to First Presbyterian Church in Tulsa.
Julia Metcalf – Certified Ready to Receive a Call as a Teaching Elder in 2021. Called to First Presbyterian Church in Tulsa.
About the author: Nick McMillan is a class of 2025 deacon, Exodus high school Sunday School adult leader and co-chair of communion. He enjoys leading small group Bible studies with youth and is a frequent participant in the Before the Rooster Crows Bible study. He joined First Church in June 2021 and is grateful for this opportunity to learn more about the preparation process and current candidates.