Ordained and lay educators are called to serve the church in a variety of roles and settings, in and beyond the local church. Life experiences and formal education among church educators is quite diverse. Mindful of this diversity, the United Church of Christ offers a certification process which recognizes and affirms the competence of church educators in many settings.
This certification process started in 1963 and is administered by the Worship and Education Ministry Team of Local Church Ministries...
- recognizes and affirms the competence of church educators
- encourages personal assessment, evaluation, and intentional growth, and
- seeks to incorporate persons into a relationship of support and accountability with other church educators
Three categories of certification are available to employed church educators who are members of the United Church of Christ and to others employed in church education in a UCC-related setting.
Designated Church Educator
A candidate for certification as a Designated Church Educator needs at least three years employment in church education before applying for certification. Although a bachelor's degree is not required, candidates may have a degree that is unrelated to church education. The educational norm is the completion of a non-credit concentrated program of skill development in church education. Certification is for a period of five years and may be renewed.
Accredited Church Educator
A candidate for certification as an Accredited Church Educator needs at least two years employment in church education before applying for certification. The educational norm is a bachelor's degree plus/ or including academic credits related to church education. Certification is for a period of five years and may be renewed.
Specialist in Church Education
A candidate for certification as a Specialist in Church Education needs at least one years employment in church education before applying for certification. The educational norm is a graduate theological degree plus/or including academic credits related to church education. Certification is for a period of five years and may be renewed.
How to apply for certification
Candidates for certification in all categories submit an application with biographical information, reflections on their educational experiences, their understanding of theology and of education, their goals for personal and professional growth, and peer reviews.
The deadline for receipt of applications is Ash Wednesday of each year. Application packets or other information can be downloaded from this page or may be obtained by contacting:
Committee on Certification
Worship and Education Ministry Team
Local Church Ministries
700 Prospect Ave
Cleveland, OH 44115-1100
216-736-3861
Application Form (PDF file)
Application Form (MS Word File)
Certification Mentors
If you would like help in completing your application for Certification, the Committee on Certification has compiled a list of experienced Certified educators to be of assistance. For more information, contact David J. Holden, Minister for Adults and Education Leadership Development, at 866.822.8224 ext. 3861 or holdend@ucc.org.
Basic Guidelines for Applicants for Certification
Certification relates only to persons employed as church educators on a local church staff or as providers of church education leadership in some other setting. Persons employed in church education, whether full time or part time, have a formal relationship with or call from a particular setting for church education. Such relationships normally include accountability, a position description, and some form of compensation.
1. Applicants must hold membership in a local church of the United Church of Christ and/or be employed in church education in a UCC-related setting.
2. Applicants should receive compensation for their work in church education and be recognized as employed in a particular setting. Lines of accountability should be distinct. An applicant should be clearly called by a local church or other agency as one who equips the saints for ministry through the practice of church education.
3. Applicants need to demonstrate, via their application, that they have the knowledge and skills needed for ministry in church education. Specifically, a candidate for certification must demonstrate:
- ability to work with people;
- competence in a variety of leadership skills;
- ability to understand and use theological and educational concepts;
- ability to evaluate one's own performance, to set goals for one's own growth, and to participate in continuing education;
- willingness to be evaluated and supported by peers; and
- acceptance of guidelines and suggestions for achieving desired growth and development.
Description of Certification
Educational Equivalency
The Committee of Certification is open to a variety of ways of meeting employment conditions and fulfilling educational requirements.
The Committee prefers that applicants have met the educational norms listed for each category. However, there are instances when special circumstances warrant special consideration. If a person seeks to satisfy the educational requirements for certification on an equivalency basis, that person shall demonstrate that he or she has attained knowledge and skills comparable to persons who have completed the formal requirements. Providing for equivalency is by no means an attempt to diminish or forego academic preparation at an educational institution or in a formal, non-credit course of study.
Please see the document on Educational Equivalency for a complete list of the educational norms for each category of Certificaton and a listing of areas in which equivalency must be demonstrated.
Educational Equivalency
Renewal of Certification
Certification as a Church Educator in the United Church of Christ is for a term of five years, after which Certification must be renewed. In the renewal process educators reflect on continuing education events, report on progress toward completion of goals, and set new goals for the next five years.
Renewal Application (PDF file)
Renewal Application (MS Word File)
Renewal and Transfer of Category Application (PDF file)
Renewal and Transfer of Category Application (MS Word File)
Recognition of Certified Educators
Local churches may wish to recognize and celebrate the Certification of a church educator. Some ways in which local churches make this recognition are listed below.
- Recognition in service of worship.
- Liturgy of Recognition
- Guest preacher and/or speaker.
- Flowers on communion table.
- Honor at coffee hour.
- Corsage, boutonniere.
- Frame certificate.
- Give "The Church Educator's Code" in format suitable for framing.
- Flyer about Ordering Church Educator's Code
- Give book or other gift.
- Article in church newsletter.
- Article in local paper.
- Mention in worship bulletin.
- Place book in church library in honor of the certified person.
- Plant a tree on church grounds in this person's honor.
- Invite the certified educator to make a presentation in an adult education setting: Present the paper(s) written and/or project described as part of the application for certification. Share the goals set as part of the application for certification or for renewal of certification.
- Have a celebration with the educator's "constituents," i.e., with children if he/she works mainly with children; with teachers if work is mostly with teachers; etc.
The Church Educator's Code
The Church Educator's Code: Purpose and Use
The Church Educator's Code is modeled on and follows the spirit of the codes for ordained, commissioned, and licensed ministers from the United Church of Christ Manual on Ministry: Perspectives and Procedures for Ecclesiastical Authorization of Ministry. It is offered for use by local churches, associations, conferences, and other United Church of Christ calling bodies, other settings, and educators.
The Purpose of Code
The primary purpose of The Church Educator's Code, like the codes in the United Church of Christ Manual on Ministry: Perspectives and Procedures for Ecclesiastical Authorization of Ministry, is to give expression to and facilitate conversations about the commonly held values and expectations of the church in relation to those involved in educational ministries in the United Church of Christ.
The code addresses issues of commitment, ethics, and etiquette. It recognizes that the church ascribes significant meaning and value to behavior in the realm of each item in the code. While there may be significant diversity within the Church in relation to any specific item, that item does represent an arena in which church people and groups have values and make judgments about the actions of educators and churches.
The code seeks to recognize and express the experience of the church and to name those understandings and behaviors which are valued by the Church.
The Church Educator's Code is provided for educators and churches to discuss with each other their values and expectations. The emphasis is on relationships in settings in which educators are called to ministry.
The Use of the Church Educator's Code
The Church Educator's Code my be used pastorally by any setting of ministry to which a church educator is called.
The code may be used as a teaching tool to help newly-called educators to identify the many spheres in which behavior is viewed, valued, and assessed. It may be used by conference staff when they work with a local church to develop a position for a church educator. It may be used by groups of educators for study, guidance, and reflection.
The code may be used in times of conflict to enable persons to talk with one another about the underlying assumptions and unspoken expectations they have, which are producing suspicion or alienation, so that reconciliation may occur. The code may help conference staff provide assistance to a ministry setting about issues related to educators who do not have ordained, commissioned, or licensed ministry standing.
The code may be used in settings where an educator, local church, calling body, and/or conference staff are exploring the call of a church educator (e.g. interviewing, negotiating the terms of a call, etc.).
The code, or an adaptation of it, may be used in liturgical settings to provide content to the vows covenantal partners make to one another.
The code may be used in any setting in dealing with accountability for church educators to clarify the values, assumptions, and expectations they are making about the commitments and actions of one another.
Church Educator's Code in Booklet Form
Additional Options for Church Educators
Employed lay UCC church educators may apply to their local committee on the ministry for standing as a commissioned minister, according to the procedures outlined in the United Church of Christ Manual on Ministry and the practice of the association. Although commissioning is an ecclesiastical process, and certification is a professional recognition, some committees on the ministry look to certification as a means of ascertaining the attainment of necessary knowledge and skills for commissioned ministry in church education.
Church educators, lay and ordained, may seek placement through procedures established by the Parish Life and Leadership Ministry Team and the associations of the United Church of Christ. A packet for completing a professional profile may be obtained by contacting the Parish Life and Leadership Ministry Team, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115. Phone: 216-736-3845.
UCC Profile Software for Ministers and Churches (this link needs to be updated)
Along with volunteers, employed church educators may join AUCE, the Association of United Church Educators, a national UCC educators' organization which provides regional and national education events, a newsletter, and a network of peer support. A membership form may be obtained from the office of the Committee on Certification.
Association of United Church Educators
The Defiance College Design for Leadership is an opportunity to earn a college degree in Christian Education through distance learning.
Design for Leadership
