Presbyterian candidates

Applying

PCA membership

Before applying to be a candidate for the ministry of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, you must first have been a member of a PCA congregation for at least six months.

personal advice

As a preliminary step before commencing the formal application process, it is strongly recommended that you speak to your minister and seek his advice, and to any others who know you well and can guide you.

PROCESS

The application process itself is as follows.

1. Meet with the Principal of PTC. This is required, and is to be done at an early stage as you consider applying. Even if you have not yet decided to apply, the Principal will always be pleased to meet with you. Make an appointment by calling the College office.

   When you meet with the Principal, ask in the office for a copy of the candidate application form.

2. WIth the endorsement of your minister and Session, apply to the Presbytery by sending the application form to the clerk of Presbytery.

3. Attend an interview or interviews with your Presbytery. Your Presbytery may ask you to be interviewed by its Candidates’ Committee, and may ask you to attend an interview by the whole Presbytery.

4. If the Presbytery wishes to approve your application, you will next be required to attend an interview with the Theological Education Committee, a committee of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria. The Presbytery will forward your application paperwork to the secretary of the TEC, and someone from the TEC will contact you to arrange the interview.

5. If the TEC endorses your application, it will notify the Presbytery, and the Presbytery will then accept you as a candidate. You will initially be on probation for (usually, and at least) one year.

Application form

The Presbyterian Theological College will provide the application form. As indicated above, you should request this from the College office at the time of your meeting with the College Principal.

THEREAFTER

Following a successful period of probationary training, the candidacy is confirmed. Your will continue through the rest of the training programme, heading towards ‘exiting’ the College.

In the final year of your studies, your Presbytery will usually take you on trials for licensing, which will at least involve you preaching before and being interviewed by the Presbytery. It is a good idea to remind your Presbytery clerk or the convener of your Presbytery’s candidates’ committee that trials for licence should be scheduled. If you pass your trials, the Presbytery will resolve to license you once it has seen your exit certificate.

At the completion of your studies, you will need to present your exit certificate to your Presbytery so that your Presbytery can license you. The certificate is issued by the College Committee of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, once that Committee has received advice from the PTC faculty that your studies are complete. There is often little time between the completion of studies and the date set for the service of licensing, so it is a good idea to check with the registrar that the exit certificate has been requested from the College Committee.

The Presbytery will the license you to preach the Word. You are then a ‘licentiate’ (and can take the title, ‘Reverend’).

Ordinarily, you will be appointed to a congregation by the Exit Students Committee of the General Assembly of Victoria (although there is an option to head towards a missionary ministry). The appointment is often made in the middle of your final year of study, on the assumption that you will complete all necessary steps to exit and be licensed. The Committee will meet with you to discuss what type of pastoral appointment you think you would be suited for.

The appointment will be for 12 months, during which time the congregation will decide if it wants to call you. If you are called, the Presbytery may move to ordain you to the ministry of the Word and Sacraments and to induct you into the pastoral charge of the congregation.

Reception of ministers

If you are a minister from another denomination wishing to transfer into the Presbyterian Church of Australia, this will be handled by the Reception of Ministers Committee of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia. You may contact the convener directly. If you want to discuss your situation, you are most welcome to make an appointment to speak to the Principal.

Degree integration

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia requires candidates to be trained at degree standard. Candidates are typically enrolled in one or more of the undergraduate or graduate awards of the Australian College of Theology.
Candidates can work towards a combined BTh/BMin, or MDiv/GradDipDiv, by undertaking four degree units per semester over four years.

College involvement

Candidates are under the supervision of the Faculty, and are required to attend daily chapel, and the annual Ministry Conference, MA intensive, Open Day, Commencement Service and End of Year Dinner.

Finances

Scholarships

The fees of candidates for the ministry of the Presbyterian Church of Australia are heavily subsidised by funding from the General Assembly of Victoria. This subsidy is automatically granted to candidates with no need to apply, including candidates accepted through the Reception of Ministers Committee. 

Centrelink payments

Full-time candidates working towards combined degrees may be eligible for Youth Allowance or Austudy for the full four years of study. Eligibility is determined by Centrelink, and applications should be made directly with the Department of Human Services.

Bursaries

A limited number of small bursaries are available to candidates, normally granted to those who are not also receiving Centrelink payments. Further information regarding these bursaries is available upon application to the Principal.