Is it possible to preach without going to seminary?

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The Mexican Puritan

Puritan Board Freshman
I will receive the Master of Ministry degree next month. I want to preach and nothing else. If I understand right, an evangelist preaches and that is it. What role does the evangelist have in the Reformed church today? Would I need to get an MDiv degree to evangelize on a large scale? A pastor preaches, teaches, and counsels, and I can understand why you'd need a seminary education to do this. But would an MMin degree be enough education for an evangelist?
 
So you've changed your mind about getting a M.Div. and being a pastor? That's what your profile says.
 
I don't think a person would need one since even women can be evangelists. Once the evangelist has seen that a person has accepted Christ, then it's the evangelist's duty to steer that person to a biblically based church.
 
Giving the Gospel is not the same as leading worship. Let's not confuse evangelism with preaching in worship. To answer your OP question, I do believe that although seminary education is a great boon to leading worship and thus preaching to the people of God, it is not an absolute requirement.

Theognome
 
I will receive the Master of Ministry degree next month. I want to preach and nothing else. If I understand right, an evangelist preaches and that is it. What role does the evangelist have in the Reformed church today? Would I need to get an MDiv degree to evangelize on a large scale? A pastor preaches, teaches, and counsels, and I can understand why you'd need a seminary education to do this. But would an MMin degree be enough education for an evangelist?

I don't think a person would need one since even women can be evangelists. Once the evangelist has seen that a person has accepted Christ, then it's the evangelist's duty to steer that person to a biblically based church.

Victor and Sarah,

I would like to call your attention to what our Form of Government says about Evangelists since both of you are OPC members like me.

Book of Church Order: Form of Government - Chapter VII: Evangelists

1. Jesus Christ, to whom is given all power in heaven and in earth, has commanded his church to make disciples of all the nations. From the throne of his glory he sent forth the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father, to empower the witness of the church to the gospel. While it is the calling of every believer to confess Christ before men, and while God gives particular gifts and calling to some to minister the Word, and while every minister of the Word must evangelize in the fulfillment of his calling, there are some who are particularly called by Christ and his church as evangelists. Ordinarily such men shall preach the Word free of pastoral charge in a particular flock in order that they may labor to bring in other sheep. And to those sheep whom Christ has brought in, evangelists shall administer the sacraments until a congregation shall have been regularly organized. Since the gifts and functions of evangelists are necessary until the end of the age, this ministry is permanent and not confined to the apostolic period.

2. The evangelist, in common with other ministers, is ordained to perform all the functions that belong to the sacred office of the minister. Yet distinctive to the function of the evangelist in his ministry of the gospel are the labors of (a) a missionary in a home or foreign mission field; (b) a stated supply or special preacher in churches to which he does not sustain a pastoral relation; (c) a chaplain in institutions or in military forces; (d) an administrator of an agency for preaching the gospel; and (e) an editor or similar ministry through the press and other means of communication. [emphases mine]

Update:
Since the Evangelist is said here to be one who is ordained into the sacred office of the minister, I do believe that whatever requirements that had been set by our denomination for one to be ordained would also be the same requirements that one aspiring for the office of the Evangelist must meet. If this is correct, then that would mean that Victor has to first pass the licentiate exam in order to become a licentiate and then take the ordination exam.
 
I will receive the Master of Ministry degree next month. I want to preach and nothing else. If I understand right, an evangelist preaches and that is it. What role does the evangelist have in the Reformed church today? Would I need to get an MDiv degree to evangelize on a large scale? A pastor preaches, teaches, and counsels, and I can understand why you'd need a seminary education to do this. But would an MMin degree be enough education for an evangelist?

I don't think a person would need one since even women can be evangelists. Once the evangelist has seen that a person has accepted Christ, then it's the evangelist's duty to steer that person to a biblically based church.

Victor and Sarah,

I would like to call your attention to what our Form of Government says about Evangelists since both of you are OPC members like me.

Book of Church Order: Form of Government - Chapter VII: Evangelists

1. Jesus Christ, to whom is given all power in heaven and in earth, has commanded his church to make disciples of all the nations. From the throne of his glory he sent forth the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father, to empower the witness of the church to the gospel. While it is the calling of every believer to confess Christ before men, and while God gives particular gifts and calling to some to minister the Word, and while every minister of the Word must evangelize in the fulfillment of his calling, there are some who are particularly called by Christ and his church as evangelists. Ordinarily such men shall preach the Word free of pastoral charge in a particular flock in order that they may labor to bring in other sheep. And to those sheep whom Christ has brought in, evangelists shall administer the sacraments until a congregation shall have been regularly organized. Since the gifts and functions of evangelists are necessary until the end of the age, this ministry is permanent and not confined to the apostolic period.

2. The evangelist, in common with other ministers, is ordained to perform all the functions that belong to the sacred office of the minister. Yet distinctive to the function of the evangelist in his ministry of the gospel are the labors of (a) a missionary in a home or foreign mission field; (b) a stated supply or special preacher in churches to which he does not sustain a pastoral relation; (c) a chaplain in institutions or in military forces; (d) an administrator of an agency for preaching the gospel; and (e) an editor or similar ministry through the press and other means of communication.

Does this mean a seminary M.Div. and ordination in the OPC?
 
Evangelist: a person who seeks to convert others to the Christian faith, esp. by public preaching.
• a lay-person engaged in Christian missionary work.

If it is true that women are not evangelist in the OPC, then that means I don't ever have to share the Gospel with anyone ever again. Not sure that's what my pastor teaches. I have been taught that Christian woman cannot teach Christian men, but that Christian woman can teach unsaved men and woman the Gospel. I'll have to talk to my pastor about this. Is there another name for laymen who spread the Gospel then and that's what I'm think of?
 
Does this mean a seminary M.Div. and ordination in the OPC?

I can't speak for the OPC, but ordinarily in the PCA, the answer would be 'yes'. There are provisions for extraordinary ordination by a presbytery of a man that doesn't have an M.Div., but that should be a rare and unusual situation.

-----Added 5/31/2009 at 01:16:01 EST-----

Evangelist: a person who seeks to convert others to the Christian faith, esp. by public preaching.
• a lay-person engaged in Christian missionary work.

In some Presbyterian bodies, Evangalist refers to a particular calling for an ordained man. The Evangelist has additional powers since he is usually working toward planting a church in a dark area, with session (elected to that body or borrowed) available.
 
Does this mean a seminary M.Div. and ordination in the OPC?

I've been told by an OPC minister that it is not necessary for one to have an M. Div. in order to be ordained in the denomination. However, the exams are rigorous and the person who takes the exams would either have to be someone who has studied all the topics that are covered by the exam on his own (this would require lots of discipline) or had gone to a good seminary that taught him the things he must know in order to pass.

BTW, even if a man has gone to seminary and earned an M. Div., that is still no guarantee that that person will be ordained. I know of a person who, even though he had an M. Div., failed his first licentiate exam and was advised to take the Presuppositional Apologetics course with MTIOPC. This person, who is now an ordained minister in the OPC, told me that he did not learn Presuppositional Apologetics from the seminary he graduated from.
 
So, Chippy, what are laymen called who spread the Gospel if they are not evangelists? I have to admit I really don't know much about church gov. That's one thing I've never taken the time to study.
 
Evangelist: a person who seeks to convert others to the Christian faith, esp. by public preaching.
• a lay-person engaged in Christian missionary work.

If it is true that women are not evangelist in the OPC, then that means I don't ever have to share the Gospel with anyone ever again. Not sure that's what my pastor teaches. I have been taught that Christian woman cannot teach Christian men, but that Christian woman can teach unsaved men and woman the Gospel. I'll have to talk to my pastor about this. Is there another name for laymen who spread the Gospel then and that's what I'm think of?

We have to make a distinction between the office of the Evangelist and the responsibility of every believer to evangelize. Just like the office of a Teaching or Ruling Elder, not everyone is called into it.

The lay-person who happens to be doing his duty by confessing Christ to the people around him is not necessarily an Evangelist (one who holds office in Christ's church). We are all called to be ambassadors for Christ and to be doing our responsibility does not put us in the position of one bearing an office in the church.

And, the task of an Evangelist is no ordinary thing. Sometimes the task of the Evangelist is to go into an area in order to establish a base (formed by a group of believers) from which a church could be started. This would sometimes take years and once the base has been established, a pastor is called in to minister to the flock.

-----Added 5/31/2009 at 01:57:09 EST-----

So, Chippy, what are laymen called who spread the Gospel if they are not evangelists? I have to admit I really don't know much about church gov. That's one thing I've never taken the time to study.

Are we not all called to be ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20)? Are not all believers called the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16)? As our FoG affirms, all believers are called to confess Christ before men. To do so would simply mean that that lay-person is doing his duty in that area, that does not give him the privilege of being distinctly called an Evangelist (I am referring to the office here).

Laypersons sometimes help their deacons in doing their tasks. Sometimes the deacons would have to form committees or assign people to do certain tasks. Now, does that make these laypersons deacons as well? The answer is NO. Because the title of the deacon is only given to the one who bears that office and in the OPC, deacons are ordained into that office. I sometimes help clean and prepare our church for Sunday worship but that doesn't make me a deacon.

Our Book of Church Order can be viewed online. The OPC Form of Government can be studied in one sitting. I recommend that you study it. In fact, the reason why I am pointing this out to you is in order to demonstrate the importance of studying our denomination's Book of Church Order. It must not be neglected for it is part of our standards.

The OPC website says this:

The constitution of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, subordinate to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, consists of its standards of doctrine, government, discipline, and worship, namely, its Confession of Faith, Larger and Shorter Catechisms, Form of Government, Book of Discipline, and Directory for the Public Worship of God.

P.S. Sarah, I do understand that my opinion doesn't count for much since I'm simply a lay-person. But, please, do read our Form of Government, it's all there. Even your own pastor would have to be consistent with our FoG in answering your questions.
 
Last edited:
Some of the most stellar preaching and teaching I've ever heard is from men who never darkened the door of a seminary.
 
I have no idea what the difference between Master of Divinity and the Master of Ministry is. To be quite honest I have never heard of the Master of Ministry. But in some Reformed circles the only real distinction between a preaching elder and an evangelist is that the evangelist is permitted and sent to go outside the physical jurisdiction of the regional synod and thus would be sent by one denomination/synod and put under watch by another. Many of us would see the work of pastor and evangelist one and the same and not as what the term has become since the Second Great Awakening (i.e. travelling preachers who hold revival meetings and can only preach 10 sermons over and over again). An Evangelist in my understanding of scripture is a pastor who has the additional burden of Church planting and doing missionary work. That's the role it was undertaken in my denomination (Église Réformée du Québec)
 
Evangelist: a person who seeks to convert others to the Christian faith, esp. by public preaching.
• a lay-person engaged in Christian missionary work.

If it is true that women are not evangelist in the OPC, then that means I don't ever have to share the Gospel with anyone ever again. Not sure that's what my pastor teaches. I have been taught that Christian woman cannot teach Christian men, but that Christian woman can teach unsaved men and woman the Gospel. I'll have to talk to my pastor about this. Is there another name for laymen who spread the Gospel then and that's what I'm think of?

We have to make a distinction between the office of the Evangelist and the responsibility of every believer to evangelize. Just like the office of a Teaching or Ruling Elder, not everyone is called into it.

The lay-person who happens to be doing his duty by confessing Christ to the people around him is not necessarily an Evangelist (one who holds office in Christ's church). We are all called to be ambassadors for Christ and to be doing our responsibility does not put us in the position of one bearing an office in the church.

And, the task of an Evangelist is no ordinary thing. Sometimes the task of the Evangelist is to go into an area in order to establish a base (formed by a group of believers) from which a church could be started. This would sometimes take years and once the base has been established, a pastor is called in to minister to the flock.

-----Added 5/31/2009 at 01:57:09 EST-----

So, Chippy, what are laymen called who spread the Gospel if they are not evangelists? I have to admit I really don't know much about church gov. That's one thing I've never taken the time to study.

Are we not all called to be ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20)? Are not all believers called the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16)? As our FoG affirms, all believers are called to confess Christ before men. To do so would simply mean that that lay-person is doing his duty in that area, that does not give him the privilege of being distinctly called an Evangelist (I am referring to the office here).

Laypersons sometimes help their deacons in doing their tasks. Sometimes the deacons would have to form committees or assign people to do certain tasks. Now, does that make these laypersons deacons as well? The answer is NO. Because the title of the deacon is only given to the one who bears that office and in the OPC, deacons are ordained into that office. I sometimes help clean and prepare our church for Sunday worship but that doesn't make me a deacon.

Our Book of Church Order can be viewed online. The OPC Form of Government can be studied in one sitting. I recommend that you study it. In fact, the reason why I am pointing this out to you is in order to demonstrate the importance of studying our denomination's Book of Church Order. It must not be neglected for it is part of our standards.

The OPC website says this:

The constitution of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, subordinate to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, consists of its standards of doctrine, government, discipline, and worship, namely, its Confession of Faith, Larger and Shorter Catechisms, Form of Government, Book of Discipline, and Directory for the Public Worship of God.

P.S. Sarah, I do understand that my opinion doesn't count for much since I'm simply a lay-person. But, please, do read our Form of Government, it's all there. Even your own pastor would have to be consistent with our FoG in answering your questions.

Thanks, I will read it!
 
The Scriptures do not require that a minister, pastor, evangelist, or preacher have a seminary education. They must be called (given to the Church by the Lord). The educational requirements of a particular denomination are different. Let's be sure and not confuse the two.
 
The Scriptures do not require that a minister, pastor, evangelist, or preacher have a seminary education. They must be called (given to the Church by the Lord). The educational requirements of a particular denomination are different. Let's be sure and not confuse the two.

So, Lawrence, are you saying that being called to be an evangelist is a position given to someone by God through the church and that the call isn't education? When you read the church gov of the OPC that Chippy quoted is that how you interpret it?
 
Sister, with all respect the OPC documents are not Scripture. The OPC has chosen that particular method for its church leadership. If you are an OPC member then you would be bound to it by agreement. If you are not a member then it it has no bearing upon you at all.
 
Well, I am a member so I am bound to it. However, sometimes laymen don't read these documents with clarity and I was just wondering if you had a better grasp on what it meant. Thanks.
 
I will agree with you on that. All too often church members ignore the governmental documents of their particular denomination or congregation. They really shouldn't. Frankly, they shouldn't become members without some understanding of what they are attaching themselves to by covenant. I'll take a closer look at the OPC BoC later on and get back to you. Right now I need to get off the PB and prepare.
 
The Scriptures do not require that a minister, pastor, evangelist, or preacher have a seminary education. They must be called (given to the Church by the Lord). The educational requirements of a particular denomination are different. Let's be sure and not confuse the two.

So, Lawrence, are you saying that being called to be an evangelist is a position given to someone by God through the church and that the call isn't education? When you read the church gov of the OPC that Chippy quoted is that how you interpret it?

I'm not sure I see anything in the OPC FoG that equates "the call" to "education". In both the OPC and the PCA all would agree that an inward call to the ministry is God's to give and God's alone, and that those who are so called must be recognized as possessing the gifts of the office to which they are called, by the local church (and the regional body of presbyters, who ordain him). They must be, as the respective forms of government describe, knowledgeable in the Scriptures, of course - but neither body has explicit written rules that say that seminary education is required (though it's rare).

I also want to note on the OP - If one is seeking "to preach only" then I'm not sure what office one is seeking. Evangelists as ordained in presbyterian bodies do NOT "preach only". I'm also honestly not sure what "to preach only" means, really. Some clarification there would help.
 
I think a split off thread needs to be started about the rigthness or wrongness of the OPC seeing "Evangelist" as a present and existing office.
 
I will receive the Master of Ministry degree next month. I want to preach and nothing else. If I understand right, an evangelist preaches and that is it. What role does the evangelist have in the Reformed church today? Would I need to get an MDiv degree to evangelize on a large scale? A pastor preaches, teaches, and counsels, and I can understand why you'd need a seminary education to do this. But would an MMin degree be enough education for an evangelist?

BTW, you need to fix your signature. Click on 'signature requirements' at the bottom of my signature.
 
The Real Question I guess is not do you have an MDIV but can you preach? It does not matter what piece of paper you have hanging on the wall or what approval you might have from a seminary but are you called and gifted in the area of preaching? "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers..." Ephesians 4:11.

So many are in the pulpit due to the fact that they have the credentials but many do not have the gift or ability thus are not fruitful.

God does not require a Seminary degree, man does. Though I am also pursing a degree and am more for it than against it, but just look at the history of Christianity and you will see that God used both learned and unlearned men to turn the world upside down. Peter was an unlearned fisherman, Paul a learned Theologian.

If God has called you and your peers and leaders have borne witness to that and you feel you do not need an MDiv then obey God and not man made church rules. But if you desire to preach in a denomination that requires an MDiv then you will probably have to acquire one.

That's my 2 cents
 
The Real Question I guess is not do you have an MDIV but can you preach? It does not matter what piece of paper you have hanging on the wall or what approval you might have from a seminary but are you called and gifted in the area of preaching? "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers..." Ephesians 4:11.

So many are in the pulpit due to the fact that they have the credentials but many do not have the gift or ability thus are not fruitful.

God does not require a Seminary degree, man does. Though I am also pursing a degree and am more for it than against it, but just look at the history of Christianity and you will see that God used both learned and unlearned men to turn the world upside down. Peter was an unlearned fisherman, Paul a learned Theologian.

If God has called you and your peers and leaders have borne witness to that and you feel you do not need an MDiv then obey God and not man made church rules. But if you desire to preach in a denomination that requires an MDiv then you will probably have to acquire one.

That's my 2 cents
:ditto:
 
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