Lay Servant Ministries

Lay Servant Ministries (LSM) equips the laity to lead, care, and communicate Christ’s love in the church and community in a variety of ways. Through basic and advanced courses, lay servants grow in discipleship, spiritual maturity, and ministry readiness.

Rev. Stacey Piyakhun

Director of Multiplication

Camale Allen

Leadership Coordinator

Rev. Derek Jacobs

Associate Director of Leadership

What Are Lay Servants?

Lay Servants are lay members called to serve within the local church and out in the community. Lay Servant Ministries courses will prepare laity for a multitude of missions and ministries, improve teaching and leadership skills, guide in improving devotional time, help laity become accountable disciples, and help develop confidence in leading prayer.

Entering Lay Servant Ministries is a process that requires approval from your pastor and charge conference or Church Council. Each lay servant is to be a professing member of the United Methodist Church and there are requirements for continued study to maintain the status of lay servant.

When Lay Servants are equipped and deployed effectively, they can energize the church and help make disciples for the transformation of the world.

Leadership Development & Training Courses (Online and In-Person)

Courses offer:

Foundational and advanced spiritual formation
In-depth topics like prayer, sacraments, spiritual gifts, and leadership
Multiple delivery formats for flexibility and accessibility
Certification pathways, including Basic, Advanced, and Lay Speaker training

Basic Course

This course is the foundation for all the other Learning & Leading courses for Lay Servant Ministries and is required to become a Certified Lay Servant and Lay Speaker. In this course you are encouraged to discover and employ personal spiritual gifts as God intended. Participants are invited to consider the importance of exercising servant leadership, developing future leaders, remaining rooted in consistent spiritual practices, and being part of a group that holds members accountable in their discipleship. Three focus areas are: Leading, Caring, and Communicating. The course offers guidelines for best practices as a church leader and in mission and ministry in the community and in daily life.

Advanced Courses

All laity are invited to participate in Lay Servant Ministries courses, not just persons seeking to become a Certified Lay Servant.

Advanced courses equip the laity for service in many facets of lay ministry and congregational leadership. Completion of one Advanced Course after the Basic Course is required to become a Certified Lay Servant. Specified Advanced Courses are required to achieve the designation of Lay Speaker.