Feeling a Call to Ordination?

Sensing a call to ordained ministry can feel exciting, unsettling, encouraging, or even confusing. For some people this sense of calling unfolds gradually over many years. For others it comes into focus over a shorter period of time. Often it is something that keeps returning — a sense that God may be drawing you towards ministry, even if you try to set it aside for a while.

If that is where you are at, you do not need to have everything worked out already. The next step is simply to begin the conversation. This page is here to help you understand what usually comes next, how the discernment process works, and what training might involve.

If you think God may be calling you towards ordained ministry, the first step is usually to speak to two people:

Start by sharing what you have been sensing. That conversation may lead to further reflection, prayer, reading, or encouragement to keep exploring.

If the sense of call continues, you will normally be introduced to the diocesan vocations team — often through the Diocesan Director of Ordinands, or DDO. In the Church of England, ordination always begins through the diocesan discernment process. No one simply moves straight into training without going through those structures. You are very welcome to explore theological colleges such as St Mellitus along the way, but the formal discernment process begins with your diocese.

The journey, step by step:

People experience this in very different ways. It may be a recurring nudge, a growing conviction, or a moment that becomes harder to ignore. There is no single pattern and no one “correct” story.

For some, it is a long-term and recurring sense that God is calling them into ministry. For others, it becomes clear more suddenly. The important thing is not how dramatic the experience is, but whether it is something you should now begin to explore prayerfully and honestly.

Your vicar, pastor, or church leader can help you begin to name what you are sensing and whether it is something to take further. Depending on their approach, they may suggest further conversations or direct you fairly quickly to the diocesan vocations team.

Discernment for ordained ministry usually involves a structured diocesan process. This includes Stage 1 and Stage 2, both of which are designed to help you and the Church test and understand your vocation more clearly.

In this process, a diocese may ask you to spend some time exploring, reflecting or gaining experience in a particular area or areas before moving forward. Discernment is not only about saying yes or no; it is also about timing and readiness.

As you move through discernment — especially as you approach Stage 2 — it becomes helpful to start exploring colleges and training pathways. Open days and conversations with colleges can help you picture what training might look like and where you might fit best. 

What makes training at St Mellitus College distinctive is its context-based model, its commitment to generous orthodoxy, and its integrated approach to academic, practical, and spiritual formation.

At St Mellitus, this may include exploring particular programme pathways.

• The Peter Stream supports people at an earlier stage of discernment, particularly those from ethnic, socio-economic, or educational backgrounds that are underrepresented in ordained leadership and who may need encouragement to explore their vocation with confidence.
• The Elizabeth Pathway supports mature and experienced lay leaders who are discerning and training for self-supporting ordained ministry in their local context, ordinarily over two years.
• Beginning Theology is an introductory programme for anyone who would like to begin exploring theology. This programme could be a helpful first step for those considering ordination training who want to engage with theological study as part of their discernment journey. The course introduces some of the basic principles of theology, helping you grow in confidence, deepen your understanding of faith, and consider how theology could shape your vocation, context, and future ministry.
• Full-time Ordination training pathway is available for ordinands recommended to train for incumbent status or those recommended for pioneer ministry. Some other ordinands, in consultation with their diocese, may also be eligible.
• Part-time Ordination training is built around ordinary life, work patterns, and church involvement. This pathway is open to any ordinand, whether you are recommended for stipendiary, self-supporting, pioneer, incumbent or assistant status.

If you are approved through the discernment process, you can then move into training for ordained ministry.

Understanding Discernment 

The discernment process is shaped around a set of recognised qualities of discernment. These look at different areas of your life, faith, character, understanding, and readiness for ministry. The interview refers to the qualities of ‘Love for God’, ‘Call to Ministry’, ‘Love for People’, ‘Wisdom’, ‘Fruitfulness’ and ‘Potential’, all of which are considered as part of the wider discernment framework.

Length of time can vary a great deal from person to person. In some cases, someone may move through it in around 12 to 18 months. For others, it may take two years, three years, or sometimes much longer. That can be because of personal circumstances, diocesan timing, or simply because discernment itself takes time. 

A helpful rule of thumb is that one to two years is fairly typical, but there is no universal timetable.

The discernment process is split into two stages: 

Stage 1 takes place within the diocese. It usually includes:

• conversations with the vocations team
• possibly one or two written exercises
• a “carousel” of vocational conversations with different people 

This helps form an initial picture of your readiness and whether it is right to move on to Stage 2.

Stage 2 is often the part candidates find most demanding. It is the point where the process begins to feel especially real. It requires candidates to spend a couple of days at a retreat centre and usually involves:

• substantial paperwork in advance
• reflective writing about your life and calling
• interviews
• group exercises
• verbal tasks and pastoral scenarios
• being assessed by national church advisors  

At the end of Stage 2, a report goes back to your bishop. That report may recommend that you are:

• ready to move forward into training 
• not yet ready  
• ready, but with some further steps to complete first  
• not recommended to move forward at this time  

Stage 2 is often experienced as the most daunting part because it involves interviews, exercises, observation, paperwork, and a deep level of reflection.

Frequently Asked Questions

You do not need to wait until everything is confirmed before exploring where you might train.

In fact, St Mellitus encourages enquirers to attend an open day or open evening before Stage 2 if possible. That gives you a chance to get to know the college, ask questions, and start imagining what training could look like. It also means the college can begin to get to know you. In most cases, colleges make a conditional offer pending Stage 2 approval.

Some people prefer to wait until Stage 2 is complete because it feels more real at that point, but earlier exploration can still be very helpful.

Not everyone who senses a call moves straight into formal discernment. There are many reasons for that.

Sometimes the discernment process itself takes time. Sometimes a diocesan team feels that more growth or experience is needed before someone goes further. Sometimes life circumstances intervene — a new baby, a job change, or other major events can affect timing.

In some cases, the process may help clarify that a person’s calling is real and from God, as far as the team is able to discern, but that it may be leading them towards a different kind of ministry rather than ordination.

For many candidates, the answer is straightforward: Stage 2. It is the point where the sense of calling is formally tested. There is a lot to prepare, a lot to reflect on, and a strong sense of being assessed. Lengthy interviews, group exercises, written paperwork, and the awareness of being observed can all make it feel intense.

St Mellitus is known especially for its context-based model of training. Rather than asking students to relocate into a fully residential college environment, it allows ordinands to be part of a lively student community while being based in their local church and grounded in frontline ministry and mission.

For full-time students, much of the week is spent serving and learning in a church context, complementing studies in college. For part-time students, training is integrated into ordinary life, work, and church involvement.

Another distinctive feature is the college’s ethos of generous orthodoxy. St Mellitus aims to serve the breadth of the Church of England, which means students are formed in a community that includes a range of theological traditions and are prepared to serve across that breadth. St Mellitus as a college with a reputation for being innovative, energetic, and creative within theological education.

St Mellitus describes its formational approach as integrated. Theology is not treated as something separate from prayer, worship, ministry, or everyday discipleship. Instead, the aim is to hold together head, heart and hands — academic learning, spiritual formation, and practical ministry.

This means that what happens in church placement, what happens in College worship, and what happens in the classroom are meant to inform one another.

St Mellitus College also offers specific formational programmes such as The Forge and Refine, which are designed to bring in practical and reflective themes that complement academic study. These include areas such as:

• healthy leadership
• church culture
• self-awareness
• self-care
• learning about healthy (and unhealthy) leadership

This is often one of the biggest questions people have. The answer is that the decision is not always based on personal preference alone. In practice, it is often shaped by:

• diocesan funding arrangements 
• age-related patterns in how training has historically been funded 
• family circumstances 
• whether continuing in work is realistic or expected 
• what the diocese is prepared to support

Sometimes people may be encouraged towards full-time training; sometimes towards part-time. Colleges like St Mellitus may help someone think it through and may advocate for what seems most suitable, but the final decision lies with the diocese and prospective ordinands need to work things out with their DDO or diocesan vocations team. Church of England funding arrangements can change over time, so it is important not to assume that previous patterns always still apply in exactly the same way.

Full-time Training

For full-time ordinands, the week typically includes:

• time in college for lectures and formation 
• substantial ministry experience in a church context 
• learning to connect what is happening in the classroom with what is happening in ministry on the ground 
• practical responsibilities such as preaching, leading, mentoring, pastoral work, and other forms of church ministry, depending on context

There is also accredited learning attached to some of the work done on placement.

Part-time Training

For part-time ordinands, the pattern is different. Training is built around ordinary life, work patterns, and church involvement. It includes:

• an evening in college each week 
• study fitted around work and home life 
• residentials during the year 
• church involvement on Sundays and, potentially (time permitting), at other points in the week

Part-time training can be demanding, and part-time ordinands are urged to think carefully about how their studies will fit around their work-life pattern.

Yes. That happens quite often. Some ordinands are already employed in churches — for example as lay leaders, worship pastors, youth workers, or in other ministry roles. In those situations, there are generally two possibilities:

• they remain in the same church while training 
• they attend a separate placement church for the purposes of formation/training as an ordinand (sometimes midweek)

Training is demanding, so support matters. Ordinands at St Mellitus are supported through several layers of care and guidance. 

• Formation Group Tutor: Each student has a formation group tutor, who is usually the first point of contact for support.
• Formation Groups: Students are part of a formation group of peers. Over time, that usually becomes a supportive community in its own right.
• Chaplains: College chaplains are available for pastoral conversations and offer a neutral space for reflection and support.
• Academic Skills Team: There is also an Academic Skills team, available to support students with study skills, academic confidence, returning to study after a long break, working with neurodivergence, or aiming to improve the quality of written work.
• Wider College Support: Where needed, students receive support from Centre Directors and other staff members, and we work as a team to ensure the wellbeing of our college community. Induction is not treated as a one-off event but is staggered over the first term so that support and guidance are introduced gradually and helpfully, and this is something our students value.

Please see our student support page for more information. 

Finances are understandably one of the first practical questions many people ask about. Some helpful points:

• Tuition fees: For all Church of England ordinands, tuition fees are covered. That means you are not personally taking on a large tuition bill for your training.
• Travel: Travel costs are also covered for ordinands, whether training full-time or part-time.
• Books & Study Material: There is usually some support available for books and study resources, and many resources can also be accessed digitally through the college library.
• Maintenance Funding: This is where the picture differs more significantly. Part-time ordinands do not receive maintenance funding. Full-time ordinands may receive maintenance funding, usually on a means-tested basis
  • This means household circumstances can make a difference. For example, where a spouse or partner has a higher income, the amount of maintenance support available may be reduced, even though tuition remains covered.
  • So while many ordinands receive a good package of support overall, it is still important to have honest conversations with your diocese about what this will mean in your specific situation.  

One of the strengths of the St Mellitus model is that training is designed so that you do not need to relocate during training itself.

Because it is context-based, many ordinands train in or near the places they already live, with placements arranged within reasonable reach.

This can make a significant difference for people with families, jobs, housing commitments, or established church communities.

Training is full on. That is true whether you are full-time or part-time.

For full-time ordinands, the combination of college life, placement responsibilities, and study creates a demanding rhythm. For part-time ordinands, the challenge is often fitting study and formation around work, church, and family commitments that already make life feel full.

It is important throughout training to be intentional about family and/or personal life and learning to guard healthy priorities. In that sense, training can also become part of learning the rhythms that sustain ministry in the long term.

Three themes come up repeatedly:

• Money: People want to know what support is available, what training will cost, and how household finances will be affected. These questions are worked through primarily with the diocese rather than with the college.
• Travel: Because St Mellitus draws students from a wide area, people often wonder whether getting to the centre is realistic. While journeys can be significant, students generally find the transport links workable and feel the training is worth the travel involved.
• Time and capacity: Part-time ordinands in particular often have to hold together study, work, church life, and other responsibilities. That can be demanding, but it is also part of the reality the college seeks to support people through.

In many cases, yes. One of the advantages of the context-based model is that relocation is often not necessary during training itself.

Resources

When Jesus Calls by Marcus Throup

Church of England's Preparing for Ordained Ministry

A final word

If you are sensing a call to ordination, you do not need to map out every stage before taking the first step. You only need to begin the conversation.

Talk to your vicar. Pray honestly. Stay open. Allow the discernment process to help you discover what God may be saying.