Only those shall be called to the office of minister of the Word
who
1. have been declared eligible for call by the churches;
2. are already serving in that capacity in one of the churches;
or
3. have been declared eligible in, or are serving in, one of the
churches with which the Canadian Reformed Churches maintain a
sister-church relationship.
Only those shall be declared eligible for call within the
churches who
1. have passed a preparatory examination by the classis in which
they live, which examination shall not take place unless those
presenting themselves for it submit the documents necessary to
prove that they are members in good standing of one of the
churches and have successfully completed a course of study as
required by the churches;
2. have served in churches with which the Canadian Reformed
Churches do not maintain a sister-church relationship, and have
been examined by the classis in which they live, with due
observance of the general ecclesiastical regulations adopted for
that purpose; or
3. have been examined according to the rule described in Article
8.
The approval of classis shall be required for a second call to the same minister regarding the same vacancy.
When a vacant church extends a call, the advice of the counsellor shall be sought.