ADL Minister Training
Answering the Call for Divine Service
About ADL Minister Training
Ultimately, the Alliance of Divine Love inter-faith minister training program is a guided personal spiritual journey over the course of a few months or take an entire year (at your own pace). Part of the journey is uncovering and reconnecting with your "true self" and part of it is preparing you to work with others.
You will be paired with an experienced ADL Mentor who will work with you through the whole process. You will discuss lessons from the training books and any experiences that come from the assignments to gain a deeper insight. This kind of mentoring is invaluable and a connection that often leads to lifelong friendships.
The ministries of ADL ministers are as unique as each of us who is called to Divine Service. Many work in the public sector, in social and medical institutions of healing and learning. Others practice their ministries on the streets serving the social, financial, or health-challenged. Many choose to teach or coach others in Divine Spirituality and personal growth. The nature of each ministry is an expression of Divine Love, whether it is a Native American Sweat Lodge, a Healing Touch practice, Yoga instruction, Raw Food Classes, Chakra Balancing, Akashic Records Readings, Reiki or a class in Martial Arts such as Gigong, or Tai Chi. It is all one—all Divine Love in Action.
Why Become A Minister?
There are more people on the planet today than in all of recorded history, and in our hyper-connected world today it is easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of all that is happening in the world. People all over the world are suffering from a sense of disconnection. Disconnection from others, a sense of purpose, a "Higher Power", and even from themselves. This disconnection is the source of much of the suffering around the world.
The world is in need of people with an understanding, a connection to higher source, to serve and guide others back to themselves, to their own connection with the Divine. One of the beautiful aspects of ADL is that we recognize the validity and usefulness of the various spiritual traditions. Therefore, we don't teach any specific dogma. We allow our ministers the freedom to practice their spiritual service to the world in whatever way they see fit, as long as it is in alignment with The Greatest Degree of Love.
Our ordained ministers come from a wide range of backgrounds; including profession, ethnicity, gender, age, and spiritual experience. Our diversity is one of our strengths. It allows us to gain and share knowledge, experiences, and opportunities that we may not otherwise come in contact with.
What Being A Minister Allows You To Do
The privileges of your ministerial ordination are essentially unlimited as long as they fall within the spiritual realm. You take an oath to “teach, preach, and counsel by all means.” You may legally perform sacred ceremonies, including weddings and baptisms, and you may practice any area of specialty within the realm of the metaphysical and spiritual. Ministers are encouraged to achieve high levels of competency in their chosen area.
The ADL Minister Training program guides you through your own personal experiences that will deepen your connection to the Divine Source in which we are all connected. Having gone through the experience yourself, you will be equipped to serve others at a higher level.
Our ministers have performed thousands of ceremonies of all types. We are an inter-faith, multi-denominational church, with ministers living worldwide. How our ministers use their training once ordained is as unique as each of our members. Here are a few common ways our ministers are serving the world:
- offering energy healing
- spiritual mentoring and counseling
- doing readings
- life coaching
- teaching
- officiating weddings, spiritual unions, baptisms, christenings, and funerals
- informal counseling in everyday roles (in traditional jobs, especially human resources)
Advanced Study
The Doctorate of Divinity in Metaphysics and Spirituality (DDMS) study is open to ADL-Ordained Ministers who have been an active member for 5 continuous years of good standing. The DDMS is designed as a three-year course of intensive study, to not only deepen your own spiritual perceptions and insights, but also to expand your understanding of the spiritual path of others. This program is facilitated by a certified Alliance of Divine Love Doctoral Mentor.
The biggest way we can change the world is to change ourselves, to awaken to our "true self"...
This awakening has a ripple effect and opens up possibilities that you may not be able to imagine right now in this moment, but part of the process is learning to trust in possibilities. So, this is where you start - Start where you are, with what you have, and take the next step.
The Process
The full cost of the Ministerial Program is $1,225, which covers an application fee of $325 and the remaining balance payable directly to your mentor.
1.) Submit your completed application, including:
- $325 application fee (covers the cost of books, postage, Ordination and administrative fees)
- 2" x 2" passport photo (hard copy or digital jpeg file)
- Upload Letter of Intent
- Select a Mentor - You may choose a Mentor or have one assigned to you.
2.) Your application will be reviewed by the Spiritual Examining Committee.
3.) After you're approved to begin the program, you will receive a Welcome Letter from the ADL National Office, along with a Student Guidebook.
4.) Working at your own pace with your Mentor, you will discuss lessons from the training books and any experiences that come from the assignments to gain a deeper insight.
- Module One: Ever Closer
- Module Two: Even Closer
- Module Three: Ministerial Lessons
5.) Ordination - Congratulations!
6.) Complete a one year internship that is designed to demonstrate your application of ADL’s Divine Love principles in practice, in whatever service represents your “Divine Appointment” or sacred work.
Let's Get Started...
What You'll Be Studying
There are 3 study books that must be completed for the initial training needed to become a minister. In total, they involve about 36 lessons of about 1 hour each. Typically, these lessons are taught in one 1-hour session per week, but teaching methods may variety.
ADL offers the first 2 books as a self-awareness program of study to interested and aware individuals. The materials for this consciousness-awakening program are contained in the books titled EVER CLOSER and EVEN CLOSER, published by the Alliance of Divine Love.
This 2 part course introduces the student to the many levels of awareness that can be tapped to create a personal image aligned with Higher Self, thus easing the tension and stress of life in today’s chaotic society and creating a platform for Divine Service.
The third step for candidates seeking ordination as ADL Ministers is the study of the MINISTERIAL LESSONS book. Through ADL’s international charter, ordained ministers are granted ministerial privileges worldwide.
Individual ministers are assigned chartered chapels as legal subordinates to the central organization of the Alliance of Divine Love, Inc.
Ethical and membership requirements are required to maintain these ministerial privileges and continue as a minister under the ADL Charter.
How To Find A Mentor
ADL classes can be taken in your local area with a certified ADL Ministerial Mentor. We refer to our teachers as Mentors, because we believe that each of us is on an individual spiritual journey and our mentors are there to accompany you and encourage your own experience.
Lessons may be studied in a variety of ways, but typically lessons are taught in one, one-hour, session per week. In the case you live in an area where an ADL Ministerial Mentor is not locally available, you may take the ADL classes either online (web conferencing, email, etc.), via telephone conference, or even by mail.
An ADL adviser from the National Office will work with you to assign a mentor who either shares your particular interests, or can best assist you in your very personal spiritual development work. If you are interested in finding a Mentor, please visit our Find a Mentor page or contact the ADL Administrative Office for a Mentor in your area.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about our ministerial training program:
How much does it cost?
The tuition for the full course of three sections leading to ordination is $1225. An initial $325 application fee is sent to The Alliance of Divine Love Administration. The remaining $900 is paid directly to your Mentor, either in full or in installments with the start of study from each book.
Your tuition includes all lessons, three textbooks, your legal pack and two certificates—Ordination and Chapel Charter.
What is the internship requirement?
Following successful completion of all of the required lessons, all new ministers are required to complete a minimum one-year internship. The nature of your internship is developed by you in cooperation with your ADL Mentor and is designed to demonstrate your application of ADL’s Divine Love principles in practice, in whatever service represents the new minister’s “Divine Appointment” or sacred work.
How do I maintain my ministerial status?
Each year you are required to pay your annual Ministerial Annual Dues. Payment is due no later than December 31st of each year.
You will also be expected to live and practice by ADL’s ministerial ethics to which you agree prior to ordination.
How long does it take to become a minister?
The personal spiritual growth and development courses set forth in EVER CLOSER and EVEN CLOSER can be completed in a flexible time frame averaging from 12 to 36 weeks. Candidates dedicated to the MINISTERIAL LESSONS from the start may also complete the entire program within this time frame.
As these studies comprise a more experiential program than just “answering questions in a workbook,” individual progress toward completion is guided by both time commitment and personal engagement.
How will I be ordained?
Your Ordination Ceremony may be with your Mentor or at an ADL conference. (Conferences are held once a year, in changing locations.)
From the moment of your ordination, and during your internship, you are entitled to practice within the scope of your ADL Chapel Charter and Ordination and enjoy all of the rights and privileges conveyed by your ADL Ministry.
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