Dr. Brett Seals, Pastor Cecil Ayers, and I are excited to announce C.A.M.S. for Students beginning January 2025! Working in conjunction with the ENCCOG Youth & Discipleship and Ministerial Development Departments, C.A.M.S. for students is an incredible starting point for all single individuals ages 16-24 who feel called into the ministry. We are now accepting applications, and we could not be more excited!
So, why do we need C.A.M.S. for Students?
Many of our applicants that go through C.A.M.S. and M.I.P. do so intending to become Lead Pastors. The average age of a traditional C.A.M.S. student across the Church of God is 39. While we need everyone, the Church of God understands the value of creating an opportunity to invest in and equip our Generation Z students who are called into the ministry in a way that best prepares them for their specific calling. Although we need more Lead Pastors, we also need qualified Children’s Pastors, Student Pastors, Young Adult Pastors, and Worship Pastors, among many other callings in our churches. We want to partner with YOU to help discover those called individuals sitting in your church and help train and equip them for pastoral ministry so that our churches can operate at their maximum potential by using the gifts and the callings God has sent to our local churches. Imagine a program designed to work WITH you as a pastor to train and equip your next Children’s Pastor, Student Pastor, Young Adult Pastor, or Worship Pastor. We believe we can partner together to strengthen our churches and send the next generation of ministers into their calling in excellence!
C.A.M.S. for Students is a separate program specifically designed for single men and women ages 16-24 who feel a call to the ministry. Students will take this program in place of our traditional C.A.M.S. program. We will take a slightly different approach in our reading and study materials in this new program to speak more to their stage in life. At the conclusion of this program, qualified students will have the opportunity to take the Exhorter’s test and receive their Church of God Exhorter’s License. This is the same Exhorter’s license that students of our traditional C.A.M.S. program test for after that program. C.A.M.S. for Students graduates will also be eligible for M.I.P at the appropriate time without having to go through Traditional C.A.M.S. prior to enrolling in M.I.P.
Dates for C.A.M.S. for Students will be as follows:
January 18
February 22
March 29
May 3
Students must be able to commit to all four of these program dates to be eligible for this program. We will meet in Kenly, NC at the ENC COG State Campground. These sessions will take place at our State Campground in Kenly, NC. Applicants must have a pastoral endorsement to be eligible to enroll in C.A.M.S. for Students. Applications are due no later than Monday, December 16.
How can you help us as we prepare to launch this incredible program?
• Pray for us. We need your prayers as we endeavor to launch this program for the first time in our state.
• Prayerfully consider who you endorse for credentialed ministry. Although we believe strongly in equipping and credentialing our next generation of ministers, we should still have a thorough vetting process on the local church level to ensure we send spiritually mature candidates prepared for credentialed ministry.
• Request applications as early as possible. If you have someone you feel would benefit from this program, let’s get them enrolled as soon as possible so that we can ensure they have all their needed materials by our start date.
The cost for C.A.M.S. for Students is $150 for the program fee and $100 for the background check for a total of $250. We cannot wait to pour into this next generation of Church of God Ministers!
Travis Smith
ENCCOG State C.A.M.S. for Students Coordinator