Council on Ministerial Standing and Ordination
COMSAO

The tasks of COMSAO as to persons who are pursuing God's calling through education and service in full-time pastoral ministry are several fold:

• To review the person's ordination paper

• To hear the candidates' Christian testimonies, their journeys of faith that brought them to this day and this place

• To assess, based on all the candidate's previous work and the meeting with COMSAO of that candidate's readiness for ministry

• To prepare the candidate for her/his ordination council to be called by the church and Area the church is part of.

• To make a recommendation as to ordination to the candidates' churches and Areas.

Below are some of the scenes from COMSAO's interviews of candidates.

Left: The group poses with their first interviewee following the interview with her, their report to her and a time of prayer. From left to right: Rev. EthelMae Champ (Area V), Rev. Cheri Grizzard (Area III), Rev. Dr. Charles Epperly (Area IV), candidate Heather Henson (Pastor of Federated Church of Wilton Center), Rev. Carl Cottingham (Dean of Regional Ordination Program), Rev. Dr. John Curtis (Chair), Rev. Dr. Dwight Stinnett (Recording Secretary).
At left, candidate David Comstock of Lincoln First Baptist Church is accompanied by his pastor, Rev. Robert Henderson. Below, David Comstock (left), shares his Christian testimony with the Council.
The Council also interviewed a clergy couple, Joshua and Kelly Melvin.
Following a positive experience and the Council's discernment of the candidate's readiness for ministry, COMSAO writes the church and the area affirming that the candidate is ready for an Ordination Council to be convened by the church who is calling for the ordination. On this day, COMSAO affirmed each candidate's readiness for ministry. Once the candidates' churches and Areas are officially notified of COMSAO's recommendations, plans for their Councils begin to be made.