Membership
What it means to be a Center or Service Center accredited by The Ministry Development Council
If you partner with, or use an MDC accredited Center or
Service Center, you can be assured of the following:
Commitment to a Mission
The mission of MDC accredited Centers and Service Centers is to strengthen the leadership of the church, church professionals, and those seeking to enter ministry. To keep that mission in focus and central, center boards of directors typically include leaders in the church.
Specially Qualified Personnel
Center and Service counselors are professionally
qualified at Masters and Doctoral levels plus certification and/or licensing. Additionally, counselors have extensive leadership experience in the church, often in ordained ministry.
Procedure of the Highest Quality
MDC accredited Centers and Service Centers are expected to demonstrate high standards: adherence to a written code of ethics, confidentiality policies, standardized instruments, counseling procedures to meet the needs of their constituents and utilizing a developmental model of candidate assessment. top of page
Wide Range of Services Offered
MDC accredited Centers and Service Centers offer a variety of services: counseling with clergy and their families, assessing candidates for ministry and candidates for specific positions within the church, coaching, pre-retirement planning, consultation with church personnel officers, crisis intervention, conflict management, staff team-building, professional boundaries concerns, clergy self-care, clergy family self-care and clergy out-placement.
Close Working Relationship with Church Bodies
MDC accredited Centers and Service Centers maintain ongoing contact with the church bodies they serve to assure their services meet the church’s needs. Such contact includes review and feedback of written reports from Centers and Service Centers to assure clarity and usefulness to committees and church leaders. top of page
The Advantages of Being Part of a Network
MDC accredited Centers and Service Centers share experience (including “best practices”) and offer mutual support. MDC sponsors continuing education events to strengthen church leadership. MDC Centers and Service Centers share research with one another that enhances the general field of knowledge regarding issues of church leadership. Centers and Services also cooperate with one another informally such as sharing of counselors with particular skills, e.g., language facility. Thus, contact with one MDC facility links the seeker to all centers in the network. top of page
1. QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP
- The membership of the council shall consist of communions which are in the Judeo-Christian tradition, or agencies of any such communions, together with those church vocation and ministry development centers and services which have been accredited by the Council. Membership in the Council implies commitment to the following:
- Joint accomplishment of the Council’s stated purposes;
- Consultation with the Council prior to making independent commitments to support or establish church vocation and ministry development counseling services;
- Contribution of a fair share of financial support to the Council’s work according to a formula established by the Board of Directors.
- Share information and coordinated research and evaluation; and
- Build a cooperative planning process and continuous coordinating system.
- An application by a religious communion for membership shall be submitted, together with a statement as to the body’s agreement with Article II, section 1(a) to the chairperson who shall transmit in promptly to the Executive Committee for its review and recommendation to the Board of Directors. Approval of an application for membership shall require a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present and voting at a regular or special meeting.
- Application for membership by a church vocation and ministry development center or service is implied in the process of seeking accreditation. Approval of an application for membership shall be granted upon accreditation of the center or service by the Council. top of page
2. MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
The annual membership meeting of the corporation shall be held on the date fixed for same by the Board of Directors. The secretary shall cause to be mailed or emailed to every member in good standing to the member’s address as it appears on the membership roll book of the corporation a notice stating the date, time and place of the annual meeting.
Other regular meetings of the corporation shall be held at the place and time designated by the Board of Directors and set forth in the notice of the meeting. The secretary shall cause to be mailed or electronically communicated to every member in good standing to the member’s address as it appears on the membership roll book of the corporation a notice stating the date, time and place of the such regular meetings at least ten (10) days but not more than fifty (50) days before the scheduled date.
The presence at any membership meeting of not less than a majority of members shall constitute a quorum and shall be necessary to conduct the business of the corporation. In addition, the presence of at least three (3) member religious communions and at least three (3) church vocation and ministry development centers or services is required for a quorum. If a meeting does not meet the requirements for a quorum, the meeting may be adjourned for a period of not more than four (4) weeks from the date scheduled and the secretary shall cause a notice of the rescheduled time and place of the meeting to be sent to all members. A quorum as hereinbefore set forth shall be required at any adjourned meeting.
A membership roll showing the list of members as of the record date, certified by the secretary of the corporation, shall be produced at any meeting of members upon the request, at least ten (10) days prior to such meeting, of any member who has given written notice to the corporation that such a request will be made. All persons appearing on such membership roll shall be entitled to vote at the meeting. top of page