Lay Servant Ministries Courses

What is the purpose of the Basic Course in Lay Speaking? OUTLINE

The Basic Course is a spiritual exercise in reading, reflection, journaling and dialogue, and discover and direction. The local church lay speaker needs to apply to the lay speaking committee to take the Basic Course. A recommendation by his/her pastor and the church council (or charge conference) is required. Upon acceptance by the committee, the applicant needs to satisfactorily complete the basic course. The local church lay speaker may serve his/her local church in which membership is held, by witness of the spoken work, vital leadership service, and care-giving ministry.

It would be best to divide the course into five meetings (one session per meeting) or ten meetings (one chapter per meeting). That allows for reflection and time to complete assignments in-between chapters. Though it has been common in Louisiana to have one day courses, but it is almost impossible to achieve the 10 contact hours required in one day. More districts are moving to two-day courses (a Friday-Saturday or 2 Saturdays).

What is the refresher course?

Since General Conference 2004, local lay speakers are required to complete a refresher course every 3 years to continue as a local lay speaker. If no refresher course is being taught in your area, it may be possible for you to retake the basic course as a refresher. These are the possible refresher courses.

- Concepts in Leadership 1
- Concepts in Leadership 2
- United Methodistm 101
- Opening Ourselves to Grace
- Africana Worship
- Worship Matters

What are the Advanced Courses available?

There are over a dozen different courses available. If you desire a specific course, talk to your district LSM director about scheduling it. It will, of course, depend upon the needs of the district and the available instructors. Some of the available courses are:

An online course - Leading Worship 101 for Lay People - is available at Be A Disciple.