Reading: Sample Letter for Local Leaders to Understand Your Ordination

Dear Local Christian Leader,

You are involved with this leader seeking ordination credential to become a ministry deacon through the Christian Leaders Alliance. 

Christian Leaders Institute has been training Christian Leaders since 2006. These Christian leaders have been raised up with many traditions and backgrounds. This graduate is seeking ordination into ministry as a ministry deacon.  Christian Leaders Institute is helping this graduate become ordained locally and recognised on our Christian Leaders Directory.  This ordination is not an "Ordination Mill" document. This graduate is receiving ministry training. This graduate has received at least 7 hours of college credit.  This graduate is connected to you as an endorser and/or ordaining authority or person. We are not taking laying on of hands lightly. Instead, we want you to confirm that this graduate exhibits the calling to ministry and that you see evidence of the qualifications of ministry.  

Ordination has been a historic designation saying that a called person is now an agent of the universal or local church. Ordination is usually performed in a local setting by existing local leaders.  This could include ordained local leaders, apostolic authority, regional authority, or denominational authority. In some house church traditions, the organising group recognises the calling and readiness for the ministry of the house church leader. The group will pray over their how house church leader thus recognising the calling to ministry and affirming their involvement with the house church.  

There are different kinds of ordinations in various church traditions too. In some traditions, elders and bishops are the same things. In other traditions, pastors exist as ordained teaching elders. In some traditions, the ordained deacons are the ordained lay leadership of the church and the priests are the ordained elder leadership of a church. In these traditions, the priest and deacons are led by ruling elders called bishops. Chaplains are also considered ordained in most traditions either as an ordained elder or deacon. The fact is that ordination seems to fit a host of historical and traditional definitions depending on the history and need of each church locally or with a denomination.

Christian Leaders Institute is developing many minister ordination opportunities. This ministry deacon ordination is foundational for any ordination this ministry candidate seeks. This recommendation helps establishes that fact that this candidate is walking with God and is called to ministry.  

This leader will be included in the Christian Leaders Alliance Directory as an ordained ministry deacon member in standing. If this person rejects the faith please contact Christian Leaders Institute so we can take him/her off the international ordination directory. 

What does the ministry deacon certificate look like? This ordination certificate will include two series of signatures. One signature comes from the president of CLI. This signature states that the graduate has completed our high-quality ministry training. The second signature is from you, the local, denominational, or local house church. In some cases, the other signature could come from a leader of the Christian Leaders Alliance Apostolic Council. 

If this Leader is not walking with the Lord or not leading a life worthy of a Christian leader, please do not recommend this leader.

Sincerely,

Henry Reyenga Jr.

President of Christian Leaders Insitute