How to Become a Reverend

Joining a Congregation

Join the church or organization that you want to serve in. If you aren’t already a member of a church or religious organization, then you’ll have to join one to get sponsorship for ordination. Find a church in the religious denomination that you want to serve in, and follow their traditions for becoming an official member. The best source of information for how to join a church is one of the clergy members. Don’t hesitate to meet with one and say you want to join their church. Some churches have ceremonies to accept new members, like a Baptism in Catholicism, and others don’t have strict rules besides attending services. It is possible to become an independent reverend and form your own denomination. There aren’t any rules against this, and as long as you find a following, it’s another potential path.

Become an active member of your religious organization. A reverend is essentially a leader of a religious community, so you’ll give yourself a solid start by getting used to this early on. Once you join a church or organization, participate in that community as much as you can. Get to know everyone, attend services, make friends, throw events, and overall, make yourself a key part of the community. Being active in the community is also important because many denominations require you to get sponsorship to attend school for religious training. Getting the whole congregation on your side is a great way to gain that sponsorship.

Ask a clergy member about the process of getting ordained. Since all denominations have different steps to becoming a minister, the best source for information is an ordained clergy member. Meet with a minister in your church and ask them what the process for ordination is. Follow their instructions and guidance for the best path to take. Also ask the minister what being a reverend is like. Learn as much as you can from them to be sure that this is what you want. It’s very possible that the clergy member you talk to might tell you that joining the ministry isn’t right for you. There are all kinds of reasons they might say this, and it doesn’t mean that you’re a bad person, so try not to take it personally.

Get your church’s support for becoming ordained. In most organized denominations, you’ll need sponsorship from your congregation to continue with your religious training and become a reverend. Express your desire to become a member of the clergy. Usually telling the church pastor is enough to start the process for you. Some denominations make you go in front of a review committee that will question you about your beliefs and commitment to the church. Be honest and open with them, even if there are negative things in your past. This is important for them to determine if you’re the best person to represent the church. Other churches might have less strict rules for sponsorship. This is very specific to each organization.

Getting Educated and Ordained

Study the doctrines and beliefs of your denomination. If you’re going to be a reverend, you’ll need to be an expert in the practices of your denomination. This takes years of study, but it’s never too early to start and your education will benefit from some preparation. For most Christian denominations, preparation includes reading the Bible and learning about church services and other key parts of Christian doctrine. You should also learn about how church services in your religion work. This is a major part of a reverend's job. This is also specific to each church, so feel free to ask a clergy member what you need to study.

Attend college to increase your knowledge of theology. This isn’t required for all denominations, but some require a college degree to continue with your religious training. Even if your denomination doesn’t require it, attending college and studying theology or religion is a great way to prepare yourself for service. You’ll expand your knowledge of religious belief and build your qualifications as a reverend. If you want to be a Catholic priest, then you usually need a college degree to attend seminary because it’s the equivalent of a master’s degree. In this case, college is required. If you don’t want to serve the church full-time as a minister, going to college is also important so you can have another career.

Complete a seminary program if your denomination requires it. Some denominations, especially Catholicism, require their reverends to attend formal religious training called seminary. This is usually a 3- or 4-year program, like college, where you’ll learn all about the practices and ceremonies of your church. You apply to seminary just like college and attend classes, take exams, write papers, and complete outreach work. If you pass your program, you’ll be eligible to become a reverend. In the Catholic church, a deacon doesn’t have to attend seminary. They have to be a church member for at least 5 years, be at least 35 years old, take an oath of commitment, and remain celibate if they aren’t yet married. This is another way to become a reverend if you’re Catholic. Some Protestant sects don’t require seminary either. It depends on your denomination.

Intern at a church while you're at seminary. While you're a seminarian, most denominations want you to learn the specific tasks of being a minister and serving a congregation. This is what church internships are for. With a church internship, you'll serve at a church in your denomination and assist the local ministers or pastors with their tasks. This way, you'll learn how to run a church on your own. Some denominations like Lutherans require an internship after seminary rather than during it. In smaller denominations, the internship process might not be formal or even required.

Pass your ordination exam to be ordained by your denomination. Some denominations test you before you can officially be ordained to measure your knowledge of church doctrine and commitments to service. Usually, the exam will be a meeting with several other clergy members, who will then spend a few hours asking you questions. If you successfully complete this exam, you’ll be an ordained reverend. A major part of most ordination exams is a Bible content quiz. By now, you should be an expert on the Bible and have passages memorized. Other denominations may ask you about performing church services, giving out sacraments, and handling ethical problems that might come up while you're serving. In some denominations, you’ll have to write an ordination paper in advance of the exam. The topic depends on the committee, and you’ll have to defend it in the meeting. Some denominations let you serve in a probationary period after passing your exam before officially ordaining you.

Get a state license to officiate weddings. Reverends typically serve as wedding officiators, but this requires a state license. Luckily, this is an easy process. The exact steps might vary for different states, but usually, you just have to submit paperwork to the county clerk and pay a small fee. Then you’re legally allowed to perform marriages. Some states don't even require a state license to officiate weddings. In this case, you can perform weddings as soon as you're ordained. If you're unsure about this process, asking another clergy member can help.

Quick Path to Officiate Weddings

Find an online ordination program. If you only want to be ordained as a reverend quickly without actually serving a congregation, then you don’t need to follow any strict rules. In fact, you can do it online in a few minutes. Search for an online church that ordains ministers. There are tons of them. When you find one, you’re minutes away from getting approved. This is a good choice for people who want to get approved to officiate a wedding but don’t want to actually serve as a clergy member. Universal Life Church is a popular organization for quick ordination. These online churches usually don’t belong to any denomination. This is how they can ordain people without any qualifications. If you do go this route to get ordained, be aware that most churches and religious organizations won’t view it as legitimate. It’s like getting a degree from a non-accredited school. This might be fine if you don’t want to work in a church, but if you do, then skip this shortcut.

Fill out the required paperwork to make your ordination official. On ordination websites, there is usually a simple form to fill out with your name, state, and contact information. Fill this in and submit it. After this, you should get an email confirming that you’re an ordained minister. These websites only ask for basic information like your name, email, and home state. Most don’t even ask your address. If one of them is asking for personal information, then it may be a scam. Find a different website.

Register with your state to perform weddings. Since any ordained minister or reverend can legally perform a wedding in the United States, you’re qualified to get a state license once you get ordained online. Then you just have to contact your county clerk and ask if you need a license to perform marriages in the state. If you do, then provide your proof of ordination to get registered. After that, you’re legally allowed to perform marriages. There may be a small fee to file the paperwork. It depends on the state you’re in. Some states don't even require a state license to officiate weddings. As long as you're an ordained minister, the marriage is legal.