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Board of the Ordered Ministry

Who is the Board of the Ordered Ministry and what do they do? The Board of the Ordered Ministry consists of fourteen elected members.  Twelve of these must be mature, experienced ministers in good standing in the Covenant, and two elected board members must be lay persons.  A majority of the elected clergy members of the board shall be ordained to word and sacrament.  At least one elected clergy member of the board must be ordained to specialized ministry.  At least one elected clergy member of the board must be commissioned.  The president of the Covenant, the president of the Covenant Ministerium, the dean of North Park Theological Seminary, the president of Centro Hispano de Estudios Teologicos del Pacto Evangelico (CHET), the executive minister of the Department of the Ordered Ministry, and a liaison from the Executive Board are ex-officio members of the Board of the Ordered Ministry. The director of staff ministry is an advisory member of the board.

The executive minister acts as an agent representative of the board between meetings of the board and reports to the board actions taken and representations made on behalf of the board. Together with the board and the Covenant Ministerium, the executive minister develops and administers policies and programs to encourage, support, and care for ministers and missionaries.

The Board of the Ordered Ministry has general supervision over all ordained and licensed ministers, commissioned staff ministers, and consecrated missionaries of the Evangelical Covenant Church, including their ordination, licensure, commissioning, consecration, standing, and discipline, and the maintenance of high standards in their ministry. 

Executive Committee of the Board:

Tammy K. Swanson-Draheim, Mason City, Iowa, Chair
Thomas L. Ek, Galesburg, Illinois, Secretary
David W. Kersten, Executive Minister of the Ordered Ministry
John E. Phelan, Jr., President and Dean of North Park Theological Seminary
Heidi M. Wiebe, President of the Ministerium
Glenn R. Palmberg, President of the ECC
Carol J. Lawson, Director of Staff Ministry