District Committees on Ministry, more commonly known as DCOMs, from all nine districts in WV, gathered at John XXIII Pastoral Center in Charleston on Saturday, September 15, 2018, to gain clarity to their purpose, review updates to the Conference policies and share best practices to take back to their respective districts.

Each DCOM across the state is charged, as outlined in the 2016 Book of Discipline, with a variety of tasks related to a person’s call to ministry, including oversight and ongoing support of persons who have declared candidacy for licensed or ordained ministry; recommendation for certification as a Certified Lay Minister; review and approval of persons serving as Assigned Supply; and recommendation and continued approval and certification of licensed or ordained clergy.

As sub-teams of the WV Conference’s Board on Ordained Ministry, or BOOM, each DCOM “contributes to the WV Conference’s ability to discover, develop, and deploy passionate spiritual leaders,” according to Rev. Bonnie MacDonald, director of Leadership Formation and Ministry Staff, who facilitated the training. She further stated in her welcome letter to the participants that the DCOMs and their individual members are “all in the ministry to work together, helping others discern and develop the lifelong calling of God.”

The DCOM members not only learned about refinements to the BOOM process but gained practical knowledge in their groups by discussing real life scenarios and learned what scholarships and grants are available for ministerial education and continued formation. The participants were also shown the technological resources that has further streamlined the work of the DCOMs and where to find, on the Conference’s website, the updated guidelines, materials and forms needed by each District.