Council on Ministerial Standing and Ordination
(COMSAO)

2024 Meeting Schedule

All meetings begin at 9:30 a.m. and are currently held through ZOOM

Documents required to meet with the Council are due at the region office 45 days prior to the scheduled meeting date. To initiate the ordination or recognition of ordination process, candidate must first meet with a member of the region clerical staff, preferably an Area Assistant Minister.

• Thursday, March 21, 2024
• Thursday, June 13, 2024
• Thursday, September 19, 2024
• Thusday, December 5, 2024

Overview

COMSAO (Council on Ministerial Standing and Ordination) is composed of six ABCUSA-recognized clergy in good standing who have been appointed by the President of GRR. The Regional Ministry Board adopts ministerial standards and policies regarding ordination, and has assigned the execution of those policies and procedures to COMSAO. The Executive Minister serves as the Recording Secretary.
The tasks of COMSAO as to persons who are pursuing God’s calling through education and service in full-time pastoral ministry are several fold:

• To review the person’s ordination paper
• To hear the candidates’ Christian testimonies, and their journeys of faith that brought them to this day and this place
• To assess, based on all the candidate’s previous work and the meeting with COMSAO, that candidate’s readiness for ministry
• To prepare the candidate for her/his ordination council to be called by the church and Area the church is part of
• To make a recommendation as to ordination to the candidates’ churches and Areas

Once the candidates’ churches and Areas are officially notified of COMSAO’s recommendations, plans for their Councils begin to be made.

Required Coursework

Coming Soon

Application for Ordination

Application materials will not be sent to candidates without the authorization of an Area Minister. All applications for ABCUSA ordination must include the following:

• Official transcript including documentation of minimal required coursework
• American Baptist History & Polity course
• Professional Boundaries (Ethics) course
• Candidacy assessment by Midwest Career Development Center: Opens in new window. COMSAO will only accept assessments that have been completed within a three year window. It is the responsibility of the candidate to contact the center, make an appointment choosing individual or group format (depends upon schedule and availability, and to pay for the service. (Scholarships may be available. Check with the GRR Associate Minister assigned to your area.)
• Place of service in an ABC Ministry in the GRR: Must be a compensated, permanent position. Student pastorates and interims normally do not qualify; part-time is o.k. This process should not be initiated until the candidate has such a place of service.
• Five personal references must be submitted on the form provided by the GRR office.
• Ordination Paper: The “ordination paper” includes a description of personal faith experience, call to ministry and the topics of doctrine of God (Trinity), authority of scriptures, doctrine of salvation, spiritual development (discipleship), our purpose in life and final destiny, the purpose and place of the church in today’s world, the ordinances of baptism and Lord’s Supper, personal commitment to the ABC, role of the minister and the relationship of the local congregation to the American Baptist Churches, ecumenical witness, and women in ministry. This paper will provide the basis for the Examination Council.

Not Ordained

1. The ordaining church, candidate and Area Minister meet to review procedures and establish a course of action.
2. When all materials are in (at least 45 days before the meeting), an interview with COMSAO will be scheduled.
3. COMSAO will report its decision to the church and the Area. If positive, then the Area proceeds with examination (Area procedures vary). Decisions of COMSAO are final.
4. An Examination Council is arranged by regional staff as assigned by the Executive Minister (usually the Area Minister) using procedures adopted by the Area. If the findings of the Council are positive, the church is then advised to initiate plans for ordination.
5. The church ordains and reports to COMSAO. The ordaining church must be the church that petitioned COMSAO regarding ordination and should be the “place of service” for the candidate.
6. The Region makes the appropriate report to the ABCUSA.

Ordained, but not by ABC USA

For those who have been ordained in another denomination and are now serving a GRR church, the ordination is transferred through an official process we call “recognition”. The candidate must meet all standards, including place of service in GRR.

1. In addition to the Applications materials that must be submitted, the applicant must ask their most recent judicatory leader to send a letter affirming that they are presently in good standing with their denomination.
2. When all materials are in (at least 45 days before the meeting), an interview with COMSAO will be scheduled.
3. COMSAO will verify the credentials and examine the candidate for theological compatibility with ministry in ABC.
   COMSAO approves or rejects the application for recognition. Decisions of COMSAO are final.
4. The Region makes the appropriate report to the ABCUSA.