A License to Preach in

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

churches is the official

authorization Authorization or authorisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences), in information security, computer security and identity management, IAM (Identity and Access Managemen ...

of a person to preach the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

and to do other tasks of ministry so authorized (for

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

ministers, this includes administering the

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

). 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 Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

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 District Conference 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 {{methodist-stub

See also

References