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PATHWAYS TO MINISTRY

The Laity Call

The leadership of the laity has a long history in The United Methodist Church. While Methodist pastors rode the circuits, it was the leadership of the lay members of the societies that kept the congregational ministry going.

Beginning Steps
A good beginning step, if you feel you may be experiencing a call to serve, is to complete a spiritual gifts inventory. Study and reflect upon how your gifts, talents, and strengths, may be used in ministry, and/or in your daily life, community, and church. Take some time to consider your passion. What inspires you? What areas of mission or ministry excite you? What issues in the church or community bring you the deepest concern? When you use your spiritual gifts in conjunction with an area of ministry that you are passionate about wonderful things can and do happen. 

Another step is critically important as you explore and prepare yourself for any form of ministry. Remain steadfast in the basic Christian practices or spiritual disciplines which John Wesley called means of grace. These means of grace include prayer, Bible study, the sacrament of Holy Communion, worship, fasting, and Christian conferencing. You may join or form a small group that will help you grow spiritually and stay faithful in your spiritual practices.

One group of this kind is a Covenant Discipleship Group. Small groups for support and accountability are a rich part of our Wesleyan heritage and continue today in many churches with a renewed vitality and relevance for growing in discipleship. Today’s Covenant Discipleship Groups help their members witness to Jesus Christ in the world and follow his teachings through acts of compassion, justice, worship, and devotion under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. They focus on a balanced discipleship through works of piety (personal devotions and public worship), and works of mercy (acts of compassion and acts of justice). 

Steps to Get Started with a Covenant Discipleship Group

For your reading:

• Accountable Discipleship; Living in God’s Household, Steven W. Manskar, Discipleship Resources 
  
• Guide for Covenant Discipleship Groups, Gayle Turner Watson, Discipleship Resources 
  
• Find a group of six to eight people who are interested in forming a Covenant Discipleship Group and encourage them to read 
  the books so that they can understand the commitment involved.

Opportunities and Steps for Servant Leadership

Class Leaders 
Class leaders led the laity of the early Methodist church in developing their discipleship. Today, class leaders may be commissioned and classes may be organized to help form faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Classes may organize as Bible studies or small groups

If you feel called to use your gifts in this way: 

• Assess your spiritual gifts. The gifts of teaching and leadership are helpful for this ministry role. 
  
• Study the role of class leader by reading ¶1118.2, 2004 Book of Discipline. 
  
• Read Class Leaders: Recovering a Tradition, David Lowes Watson, Discipleship Resources. 
  
• Develop a good working knowledge of the Bible through study books. 
  
• Study United Methodist polity, tradition, and theology. Your pastor can refer you to reading resources. 
  
• For more information on leading small groups.
  

Ministry Area or Committee Chair
Leading within the congregation as part of a ministry team, committee member or committee chair is another form of servant ministry or servant leadership for lay people. 

Resources to help you in this way: 

• Participate in a spiritual gifts study to determine your spiritual gifts or complete a spiritual gifts assessment. 
  
• Share the results of your spiritual gifts assessment with your pastor and/or the chair of the Lay Leadership Committee. 
  
• Read a copy of the Guidelines for Leading Your Congregation, available from Cokesbury, for the area or committee of interest to you. 
  
• Make your interest known to the pastor or nominating committee in your congregation so your name may be considered in this way. 
  

Lay Member to Annual Conference 
Lay members to annual conference have the responsibility to represent their congregation at annual conference and help interpret the actions and activities of the annual conference to their congregations.

• Be licensed and receive an appointment from the bishop.

To consider this servant leadership position: 

• You must be a professing member of The United Methodist Church for two years and active in The United Methodist Church for four years. 
  
• Lay members to annual conference are elected by the charge conference of your church.

Lay Leader

Lay leaders function as the primary representatives of the laity in the local church, district, or annual conference to which they are elected. The role of lay leader is not only to represent the laity, but also to support the pastor. In correlating positions, the district lay leader supports the district superintendent, while the conference lay leader supports the bishop. Laity in these roles can be prayer partners and share in mutual ministry with the clergy leaders.

Steps to take include:

• Assess your spiritual gifts. The gift of leadership is helpful for this role in the church. 
  
• Lay leaders must be professing members of the local church and are elected by the charge conference of that church. 
  
• Read the Lay Leader/Lay Member Guideline, available from Cokesbury, to discover the responsibilities and considerations for the role of lay leader in the local church. 
  
• It is a good option for lay leaders to consider becoming certified lay speakers.

Lay Servant Ministries

For information about Lay Servants, Certified Lay Speakers and Certified Lay Ministers, visit the Lay Servants webpage.

From www.gbhem.org, the official web site of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, Nashville, Tenn., copyright © 2008. 
Used by permission. Modified to East Ohio Conference requirements