Vineyard USA Ordination
Ordination begins in the local church, where community discerns and affirms God's call. Vineyard USA comes alongside that discernment to offer national endorsement and support across the movement.
Formed in the local church
Ordination itself is carried out by the local church, the community that has witnessed the Candidate’s life, character, and formation up close and over time. Vineyard USA issues national endorsement as an expression of shared discernment, affirming that a pastor is recognized across the broader Vineyard movement.
These two actions are distinct and complementary. Together they reflect our conviction that pastoral identity is formed in community and recognized through relationship — with Vineyard USA stewarding a common theological and formational standard so that ordination carries consistent meaning across the movement.
"This process centers the call God has placed on your life and the formation of the pastor you are becoming."
Roles & partnership
Four parties hold distinct responsibilities that work together: relationally, formationally, and with mutual accountability.
Participates as an active partner in their own formation, with honesty, openness, and spiritual attentiveness. Responsible for their own growth, health, and readiness throughout.
Carries primary responsibility for the Candidate’s formation within the life of the local church. The Sponsoring Pastor leads the development pathway and provides pastoral care throughout the journey.
Stewards a shared framework for pastoral formation across the movement. Provides structure, tools, and guidance, and facilitates key conversations that anchor each phase of the process.
Invited to offer perspective from beyond the local context, with fresh eyes that may notice patterns those closest to the Candidate cannot see as easily. Their role is consultative and pastoral in nature.
What a Vineyard pastor is
The ordination process is organized around a simple but profound question: what does it mean to be a Vineyard pastor? The Be–Know–Do framework answers that question across three dimensions of pastoral identity. Every phase of the process, from the initial application to the development pathway, is shaped by these areas and the 10 ordination competencies that flow from them.
Identity & Character
Who the pastor is becoming: their inner life, relational maturity, emotional health, and character formed in intimacy with God.
Theological Formation
What the pastor understands: theological clarity, Vineyard distinctives, knowledge of Scripture, and the broader story of the Church.
Practices of Ministry
How the pastor leads, serves, and equips: practicing ministry with wisdom, humility, and love in the real life of the church, and engaging the world with compassion, justice, and Spirit-empowered mission.
Read the Be–Know–Do Framework · 10 Ordination Competencies
Mutual Accountability
You bring yourself honestly to this process. Here's what everyone else brings.
How it works
The process unfolds across four phases, each building on the last: from establishing call and story, to honest assessment, to a carefully led season of development that leads to ordination and endorsement.
Phase 1
The process begins with confirming sponsorship and submitting your application. This phase formally opens the journey by inviting you to tell your story: your faith, your call, your ministry experience, and what you’re hoping for from this season.
Phase 2
Candidates reflect more deeply on their pastoral health and formation, engaging in a structured self-assessment, honest conversation with their Sponsoring Pastor, completing a background check, and participating in a psychological assessment.
Phase 3
Phase 3 is where everything that has been gathered comes together. The Sponsoring Pastor, Translocal Leader, and Candidate each offer independent written reflections on what stands out from the process. The Ordination Guide synthesizes those perspectives and prepares for the Pastoral Conversation — a gathering of all the key participants to give thanks for what has been offered, name what has been noticed, and ask the questions that still need asking.
From that conversation, the Sponsoring Pastor and Ordination Guide work together to shape a personalized development pathway for the Candidate. The Sponsoring Pastor authors a letter naming the plan and committing to walk through it with them. Then the real work begins — a season of formation led by the Sponsoring Pastor within the life of the local church, with the Ordination Guide staying connected throughout.
Abbreviated Pathways
In rare cases, the Pastoral Conversation may lead to a recommendation to move toward ordination and endorsement without a full development season. This is not a shortcut and is not assumed. It is reserved for Candidates whose formation and readiness are already clearly evident — for example, a Candidate with significant ministerial experience who was formed and ready but came to formal ordination later in their ministry journey, or certain ordination transfers where equivalent formation has already taken place. These situations are discerned carefully by the Sponsoring Pastor, Ordination Guide, and Candidate.
Phase 4
When the development pathway has been completed and readiness has been affirmed, the local church proceeds with ordination. Vineyard USA then issues national endorsement, recognizing the Candidate as an ordained Vineyard pastor within the movement.
Common questions
Ready to begin?
Applications are submitted exclusively online. You can begin, save your progress, and return at any time. Before you apply, confirm sponsorship with your pastor.
