Regulations
1. a. All congregations may, but will not be required to, allow
women to serve in the office of minister, elder, deacon, or
commissioned pastor.
b. Classes may, in keeping with their understanding of the
biblical position on the role of women in ecclesiastical office,
declare that women officebearers (ministers, elders, deacons, and
commissioned pastors) may not be delegated to classis.
c. All duly elected and ordained officebearers may be delegated
to synod. Officebearers shall not be asked to participae against
their convictions.
2. Synodical deputies shall not be asked to participate against their conviction in any matter relating to ministers of the Word as provided in Articles 6-18 and 82-84 of the Church Order.
3. Every classis shall respect the prerogative of its constituent churches to call and ordain officebearers according to their own biblical convictions. No members of classis shall be required to participate against their convictions in a candidate’s examination or in processing ministerial credentials. The examination for ordination of a female candidate may then be conducted by a classis contracta consisting of delegates from churches that do not object. In the event that a quorum cannot be found, representatives from churches in a neighboring classis may be invited to achieve the equivalent of a quorum.
4. Women ministers may not be approved for fields of labor outside North America where our partner churches do not permit the ordination of women.
5. In the consideration of applications submitted by qualified women for candidacy for the office of minister of the Word, both the Candidacy Committee and synod shall ensure that trustees and delegates will not be forced to participate against their convictions. In the declaration of candidacy delegates may exercise their right to abstain from voting.
6. The executive director shall maintain a list of classes that have declared that women of cebearers (ministers, elders, deacons, and commissioned pastors) may not be delegated to classis.
(Acts of Synod 2007, pp. 610-12)