Our mission as a team is to license and ordain pastors and chaplains who serve in Ohio Conference and provide them with encouragement, support, and accountability. The ordination process takes 2-5 years and includes meeting with a mentor, completing leadership and psychological testing, and participation in a pastor peer group. We want our pastors and chaplains to be healthy as they live out their calling. We offer financial assistance for formal educational training for growth in ministerial competence and invite pastors and chaplains to participate in training opportunities through Ohio Conference such as the Healthy Boundaries training taking place this fall. (For more information about Healthy Boundaries, see http://bit.ly/OCHealthyBoundaries.)

The team works closely with the regional pastors, who are the link to the congregations and incoming pastors as well as when there are ministerial issues that need to be addressed.

We conduct our ministry according to the guidelines specified in A Shared Understanding of Ministerial Leadership: Polity Manual for Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA as well as Ministerial Sexual Misconduct Policy and Procedure (available on the Ohio Conference website at http://bit.ly/MisconductPolicy or on the Mennonite Church USA website:  mennoniteusa.org). These resources help our conference and denomination ensure that our licensing and accountability structures are orderly, consistent, and fair. If you ever have any questions about the Credentialing Ministry in Ohio Conference, please feel to contact our chairperson, Andy Stoner, at astoner45@gmail.com.

Credentialing Ministry
Andy Stoner, chair
Jacob Dodson
LaVonne Hartman
Vickie Yoder
Miriam Zehr