A License to Preach in

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

churches is the official

authorization Authorization or authorisation (see spelling differences) is the function of specifying access rights/privileges to resources, which is related to general information security and computer security, and to access control in particular. More for ...

of a person to preach the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and to do other tasks of ministry so authorized (for

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

ministers, this includes administering the

sacraments A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the real ...

). Such a license is usually issued by a District Superintendent or Bishop and was required to be reaffirmed at regular intervals (usually annually). In the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

today this practice is continued in the issuing of a Local Pastor's License, authorizing a person to preach, administer the Sacraments, and do other tasks of ministry in the local church to which such person is appointed. In the

Evangelical Wesleyan Church The Evangelical Wesleyan Church, formerly known as the Evangelical Wesleyan Church of North America, is a Methodist denomination in the conservative holiness movement. The formation of the Evangelical Wesleyan Church is a part of the history of ...

, the

District Conference In many Methodist Churches, a District Conference is a unit of church organisation with respect to hierarchy. Evangelical Wesleyan Church In the Evangelical Wesleyan Church, district conferences are required to be held thrice a year. It is preside ...

has the authority to dispense a license to preach.

References

* ''The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, 2004'' (and all previous and future editions), Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 2004. Methodism History of Methodism in the United States

Preachers A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...

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See also

References