REQUEST FOR VERIFICATION OF CREDENTIAL HISTORY

Church of the Nazarene

 

Along with a criminal background check, an essential step in qualifying any individual seeking a local or district minister’s license is to verify the individual’s credential history in the Church of the Nazarene with the General Secretary’s Office. Such verification is an indispensable exercise of due diligence by local church and district boards in fulfilling their respective responsibilities in relation to ministerial licensing. 

Credential history verification is required when . . .

• An individual applies for a local minister’s license for the first time from the congregation of which the individual is currently a member (even if the individual held a license while a member of another congregation
• An individual applies for a district minister’s license for the first time from the district on which the individual is currently a member, unless there is a record on file at the District Office of verification previously by a local church or by another district.

How to submit this verification request:

• Requests initiated by a local church should be submitted to its District Office.
• Requests received or initiated by a district should be submitted to the General Secretary’s Office (gensec@nazarene.org; FAX, 913-577-0848; 17001 Prairie Star Parkway, Lenexa, KS 66220)

Your information will be forwarded directly to the District Secratary who will in turn send this to the General Board of the Church of the Nazarene for review. 

Thank you.  

Why Verify an Individual’s Credential History? 

One of the persistent threats to the safety of the children and youth served by our local churches is the possibility that someone with a history of misconduct may escape arrest and conviction, relocate to a new area, and re- engage in such misconduct. Too often, the prelude to such misconduct is the perpetrator’s securing the trust of those subsequently victimized. In light of this fact and as part of a non-monetary agreement reached in an out of court settlement involving a misconduct case, our office has committed to helping local churches and districts reduce this risk.

If, as a result of the verification process, a situation comes to our attention that may potentially have bearing upon whether an individual seeking a local or district license qualifies for such, we note and retain the details available to us. In the settlement, we agreed to make every effort to cross-reference the names of first-time candidates for local or district minister’s licenses against our records so that any concern that may come to light may be addressed prior to the issuing of a license.

While this procedure does not replace the need for a criminal background check on every person seeking a local or district license (as well as on anyone wishing to serve in children’s or youth ministry endeavors), it does provide an additional measure of protection to local church boards and to district boards of ministry.

GENERAL SECRETARY CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE