You've been appointed as the Director of Lay Speaking for your District.  Now what? Even though you might be an experienced Lay Speaker, there are certain tasks that are specific to the District Director.  This document will try to answer most of the questions you might have.  If you need further clarification or details, please contact your Conference Director of Lay Speaking. 

1) Learn About the State of Lay Speaking in Your District. 
     a) Has there been basic and/or advanced courses taught in the past year? Over the past few years? 
We'd like to have at least one basic course and one advanced courses taught in each District each year.  It may be best to try to offer both types of courses twice a year in different parts of the district. Try not to hold every course in the District office's city. In looking over the past few years, it will tell you how strong the Lay Speaking program is in your District.  If there hasn't been a course in the recent past, you may have quite a bit of work to do.
     b) Is there a list of certified Lay Speakers? Of local Lay Speakers?
It is important to maintain a list of Lay Speakers.  It is useful in tracking the Lay Speaking program, and can be used by churches looking for a Lay Speaker. To be a Lay Speaker (local or certified), a person needs to submit an annual report to charge conference each year. It will be your job to keep track of the list of lay speakers (and an online database of Certified Lay Speakers should be properly maintained).
     c) Is there a budget or existing balance dedicated to Lay Speaking?
Some Districts may have budgeted funds for Lay Speaking, but usually the Lay Speaking account is generated by courses.  A fee is charged (about $20) to cover the costs of a course.  Usually there is a bit extra.  If a balance hasn't accumulated in your District, check with the DS to see if the laity budget will allow you a few dollars to get started.
     d) Is there a District Lay Speaking committee? If so, who are its members?
The membership of a District Lay Speaking committee should be composed of yourself, the DS, the District Lay Leader, and other members you feel you need.   If one does not exist in your District, talk to your Lay leader and DS about selecting one ASAP.
     e) Does the District office or prior Lay Speaking director have resource materials (ie. course booklets)?
There are 2 booklets that you must have: the Guide for Conference and District Committees (of Lay Speaking) and a Basic Course booklet.  Other resources include Advanced Courses and reference books (i.e. How to Preach). 
     f) Is there a list of potential course instructors?
Ask your District office or the previous director if there is a list of former instructors or people who have volunteered to teach.

2) Learn About Lay Speaking in the Entire Conference.
     a) Who is the conference director?
Tim Hebert, 314 Richard Dr., Houma, LA; Email:
     b) As District director, am I on the conference committee on Lay Speaking?  Who else is on it?
Yes, you are.  The conference committee is composed of the conference director and all of District directors.
     c) What resources are available to me, as a District director?
Check out the information on this page and the rest of the LSM section of the conference website. Ask your Conference LSM Director if there are further questions.. 
     d) What is going on in the Lay Speaking program going in other Districts, especially those near my own?
There may be instructors in nearby Districts that would be willing to teach in your District.  Also, sometimes it is closer for members at the boundaries of the District to attend Lay Speaking courses in a neighboring District.

3) Organize Your Resources.
     a) People 
          i) Previous Lay Speaking Directors
One of your main resources will be the immediate past director.  He or she can tell you what has been done up until your appointment.  Other previous directors may be able to offer advice and may be possible instructors.
          ii) Other District Directors
You can learn from their advice and by observing their programs.
          iii) Conference Director
The conference director is probably too busy to attend each course, but can provide information and resources if you ever have any questions about how to manage Lay Speaking in your District.  You can depend on him or her to work on motivating you in maintaining an effective Lay Speaking ministry.
          iv) DMT
Besides being a source for possible instructors, the DMT should have a feeling for the needs of the laity in your District.  They will also be developing a resource list of people and materials that could be useful in the Lay Speaking program.
          v) Other Lay Speakers
Do you know who are the Lay Speakers in your District?  If you don't have a list, compiling one should be one of your first jobs.  Start with a list of the certified Lay Speakers, since these are the ones that may be called upon to minister outside of their own congregation.  You should input the list of Certified Lay Speakers into the online database (Tim has the log-in information). It would also be good to compile a list of local Lay Speakers.  Where do you find out who is considered to be a Lay Speaker? Each Lay Speaker is supposed to turn in an annual report of their activities to their charge conference.  A copy of this report is to be sent to yourself and to the District office.  If you don't receive copies, check with the District office to see if you can get them.  You may want to remind your DS that he/she is supposed to ask about lay speakers at charge conferences.
     b) Reference Materials
          i) Guide for Conference and District Committees (for Lay Speaking)
This should be the first book you get.  If your District doesn't have one for you to use, get the District office to order you one.  They're less than $10. 
          ii) Basic Course booklet
You should be very familiar with the Basic Course, since it is required for every Lay Speaker.  You should have a copy in your possession. 
          iii) Advanced Course booklets
Discipleship Resources makes course guidelines for most of the approved Advanced Courses.  You may want to build up a collection of all of the available booklets so that you can be prepared to offer any of the courses.
          iv) Other Reference Books
This category is a large one.  It includes basic materials (Bible study tools) and those specific to the Lay Speaker (how to lead, how to preach, etc.).  Discipleship Resources and Cokesbury have a large assortment of books to help you out. 
          v) The Internet
Our Louisiana Conference website has a section devoted to Lay Speaking.  Besides offering more details on Lay Speaking, it has links to the course booklets at DR to make it easy to order them.  There is also a list of reference books that are most useful to Lay Speakers. 

4) Plan Your Lay Speaking Program.
This should be done by the District Lay Speaking committee.  Though it is often hard to get people together for a meeting, communication by mail, phone, and computer make the task easier.  A much more detailed timeline can be found in the Guide to Conference and District Committees.
     a) Plan to have at least one basic course and one advanced course each year.
     b) Find instructors for the courses.
Laity leaders work best for the basic course.  You may want to get 2 or 3 to team teach it.  Consider yourself, experienced Lay Speakers, and other laity leaders as possible teachers.  They don't have to be from your District.  For advanced courses, clergy often make good instructors.  Start with those who might have taught a course in the past.  Go to your own pastor to ask for help … they may volunteer or may know of a good candidate.  Check with the DMT for a list of people who may be ready to volunteer to teach.
     c) For advanced courses, decide on the topic(s). 
You may want to select the topic(s) as a committee, or you may want to leave it up to the discretion of the instructor(s). According to the Discipline, you should only use the UMC courses (available at Upper Room) or courses approved by the conference LSM committee. If you have an idea for a course, you need to get it approved by that committee. Sometimes an alternative course may be used as an advanced course (but only once) - e.g. taking a Disciple course.
     d) Decide on a time and location for the courses. 
It is best to vary their location and time from year to year to reach the maximum amount of people.  For your first course, you may want to have it in your own church or city.  When you have to hold the  course on the other side of the District, it complicates matters.  So start off easy, and work your way to more difficult assignments. Although it has been common to hold one-day courses, these do not include the 10 hours that are required. Actually, if the group is small, you can probably fit the entire 10-hour course in an 8-hour day. We are trying to move towards having the full 10-hour course. That may be done in 2 days (Fri-Sat, Sat-Sat) or any other configuration that works in your district..
     e) Advertise the course
Have the information included in the District newsletter.  Send it in to the Conference newspaper and the Conference website. Send out a informational letter about the course (with an application) to each Lay leader in the District.  Make sure you include a registration deadline; about 2 weeks before the course is good (to allow time for you to order and receive books).  It is common to accept walk-ins, but it's good to have an idea of the size of the class when you order materials.
     f) Order the books.
For the basic course, each student needs a basic course booklet.  The teacher's instructions are at the back of each booklet.  For advanced courses, you'll need a leader's booklet.  Most advanced courses also have a 'textbook' that needs to be ordered for each participant (and the teacher).  As soon as the registration deadline comes, the books should be ordered.  You can order them earlier, if you have an accurate idea of the number needed; but orders usually take less than 10 days to arrive.  You will probably want to order a few extra for walk-ins or late registrations.  You may be able to get the District office to handle the ordering of books.  That way, they can pay for them from their account.  If you take care of it yourself, you may want to set up an account with Discipleship Resources (and maybe Cokesbury).  That way, you can order the books and pay for them after all funds are turned in.  Checks for the course fee, which is often $20, should be made out to your District.  Save the receipts for anything you purchase, from books to refreshments, for reimbursement.  You may also want to get the District office to make the payment on the Discipleship Resources or Cokesbury invoice directly.
     g) Send out confirmation letters before each course.
You will want to remind them of the course date.  You should include directions to the course location and the phone number at the location.  Be sure to have contact information so they can reach you if there's a problem (before or the day of the course).  Remember to send a reminder letter to anyone else associated with the course: the instructor(s), people bring food, the host church, etc.  Check the Instructor's Guide to the Basic Course for more information on holding a course.

5)   Managing the Program.
     a) It is your responsibility to be the leader of the Lay Speaking program in your District. 
     b) You should make sure the District committee is functional.  That will help you with the job of planning the entire program.
     c) Unless you delegate the job to someone else or it is handled by committee, it is your responsibility to make the arrangements for the courses.  This includes everything from ordering the course books to making sure coffee will be prepared that day.
     d) You need to maintain a list of Lay Speakers in your District. 
It is useful in tracking the Lay Speaking program, and can be used by churches looking for a Lay Speaker. Sometime in the summer you should get the word out (before charge conferences begin) to local church Lay leaders that all Lay Speakers need to submit a report to be renewed.  You may want to send them a letter and a report form.  Report forms can be found in the Guide book and at the Conference website.  Remind your DS to look for them, since he/she has to sign them at each charge conference.  Though they are supposed to send you a copy, most don't.  The reports should be sent to the District office, however.  Get the District office to make you copies so that you can put the information into a database.  Though the database could be as simple as index cards, it would be much more effective to put them into a computer program.
     e) Send in the list of Lay Speakers to the conference director as soon as it is compiled.
     f) Learn as much as you can about Lay Speaking.
You are the resource person for the Lay Speakers in your District.  Become familiar with the section on Lay Speaking in the Discipline.  Read the Guide to Conference and District Committees (on Lay Speaking) so that you can become better informed on the subject.  Work on acquiring resources related to the various areas of Lay Speaking.
     g) If you cannot fulfill the obligations of the position, it would be best for the program if you would help find a suitable replacement. 
We are all busy these days.  If you decide that this position is not a priority, so that you cannot effectively manage the program, please inform your District Lay leader so that a replacement can be found.

6)   Contact Information: ______________________________ District

Name                                                          Phone                            Email 

District Superintendent
_________________________________ __________________ ____________________ 

District Lay Leader
_________________________________ __________________ ____________________

District Lay Speaking Committee
_________________________________ __________________ ____________________
_________________________________ __________________ ____________________
_________________________________ __________________ ____________________
_________________________________ __________________ ____________________
_________________________________ __________________ ____________________
_________________________________ __________________ ____________________

LOUISIANA INFORMATION

Conference Lay Speaking Director: Tim Hebert

Lay Speaking page at the Conference website 
     <http://www.la-umc.org/laity/lsm.php>

Discipleship Resources  1-800-685-4370  <http://www.discipleshipresources.org>

Cokesbury    1-800-672-1789  <http://www.cokesbury.org>