How long is the process in the United Methodist Church to become an ordained minister?
Ordained elders must earn a bachelor’s degree and a Master of Divinity. For most people, that’s seven to eight years of education. While deacons are not required to earn a Master of Divinity degree, they are still required to earn a bachelor’s degree and a master’s in their area of specialization (such as teaching, social work, etc.), along with a minimum of 24 credit hours of basic graduate theological study (BGTS). So this is also seven to eight years of education. After obtaining a master’s degree, the UMC requires each candidate for deacon’s or elder’s orders to serve for a minimum of two years as a provisional deacon or elder in an appointed ministry setting before being considered for ordination. They must also complete various requirements of their annual conference’s board of ordained ministry, including psychological testing, written applications, and a series of interviews. Download this resource as a PDF to print or distribute (129KB). *The Rev. Meg Lassiat is the director o
