UCC Certification for Church Educators:

The Still Small Voice

By Rev. David J. Holden

Our lives as Christian educators can sometimes seem like a whirlwind: lessons to prepare, supplies to be gotten, positions to be staffed, classes to be taught. Add to this the demands of balancing church, work, personal, and family time. It can all get pretty dizzying, and pretty deafening, when it comes time to listen for God in the midst. Behind and beyond our whirlwind lives, what is the still small voice of God saying to us about how we live out our role as equippers of the saints?

UCC Certification for Church Educators provides an opportunity to step out of the whirlwind to consider just such questions. In a process that has been described as affirming, clarifying, and inspiring, one certified educator suggests, “...Certification allows me to take time to appraise my spiritual growth and delve deeper into my sense of purpose as I follow the Christian life I seek to live.” Or, put another way, Certification provides a place and a way to listen for God’s still small voice.

For each of three categories—Designated, Accredited, and Specialist—the certification process maps out standards that promote a balanced, grounded, and thorough engagement of issues related not just to professional competency, but also to faith formation. Personal assessment, goal setting, continuing education, and peer review, provide support and insight as candidates reflect on their vocation. Many find that Certification not only helps focus their work, but also aids them in discerning and reconnecting with that still small voice that persists heedless of the whirlwind, calling them in fresh and exciting ways to faithful life and ministry as educators in the United Church of Christ.

For more information, descriptions of the three categories for Certification, and to download an application for the UCC Certification process, go to www.ucc.org/education/certified-educators.

David Holden is the former Minister for Adult and Education Leadership Development, Worship & Education Ministry Team, Local Church Ministries, a Covenanted Ministry of the United Church of Christ.

This article is reprinted from the Spring 2004 issue of The Education Connection. The website address was updated 7/07. The author’s byline was updated 7/08.

For more information about the UCC Church Educator Certification program, visit www.ucc.org/education/certified-educators.

Click here to read the Fall 2009 update on the status of the UCC Church Educator Certification program.