District Committee on Ordained Ministry (dCOM)

by Jeffery Jaggers, Chairperson

Each district has a District Committee on Ordained Ministry (dCOM). The dCOMs are sub-committees of the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. Our responsibilities include interviewing people who have experienced a call to the ministry of Local Pastor, Deacon, Elder or Certified Lay Ministers. We annually meet with candidates for Deacon and Elder as they progress through seminary and then recommend them to meet with the Board of Ordained Ministry. We also meet annually with local pastors to renew their credentials for ministry. The membership of the dCOM includes lay people, Local Pastors, Deacons and Elders.

As the chair of the East Winds District Committee on Ordained Ministry, I get to work with THE BEST dCOM in the North Central Jurisdiction – if not the entire denomination! We take our work seriously because it is holy work, and it is work that shapes not only the candidates and pastors, local church, and the district, but also the kingdom of God. Much of the credit for keeping our dCOM on track and moving forward goes to our Vice-Chair, Rev. Ann Emerson, and our registrars, Rev. Carol Blair-Bouse and Rev. Barbara Benjamin. While the details of our meetings are confidential, I can say that we have very high quality Local Pastors in ministry in our district, and very high quality candidates for ministry coming through the process towards ministry. It is not easy to become a Local Pastor, Elder, Deacon or Certified Lay Minister, and the work that these folks do is nothing less than amazing. If you, or someone you know, are sensing a call from God to some form of ministry, please let your pastor know. She or he will set you on the path toward discerning that call and how God might use you, your gifts and your graces to spread the love, grace and kingdom of God through the United Methodist Church.

God Bless, Jeffery Jaggers