No Dragons' Den for would-be ministers

Gone are the days when your future as a trainee minister hung on surviving a grilling from a black-suited interview panel. How do you become an Elim minister today? Phil Worthington took Chris Rolfe through the process.

We’ve all seen it – the moment a quaking entrepreneur steps into the den, hoping their invention or business idea will wow the fearsome panel of ‘dragons’.

That’s what many people think interviews for Elim ministry training are like, says Ministry Department Director Phil Worthington.

“Back in the day you felt you had half an hour to prove your worth with a ten-minute sermon and a twenty-minute grilling in the General Superintendent’s office. It felt very intense,” he says.

But not anymore. Today’s revamped process is more relaxed, with group sessions and smaller interview panels putting relationships front and foremost.

The pathway into Elim ministry was a topic explored at last month’s ELS. Here, Phil explains how you can become an Elim minister and what your training will involve.

Stage 1: meeting the ministry criteria

“We’re looking for people who aren’t necessarily fully-formed ministers but are showing some capacity,” says Phil. This means that filtering candidates before inviting them to interview is an important first step.

When you apply for ministry training, therefore, there are three criteria you’ll need to meet.

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