Certified Lay Ministry

WHAT IS A CERTIFIED LAY MINISTER?

A Certified Lay Minister is a professing member of a local congregation who has successfully completed an approved program of study, including required coursework in Wesleyan theology and the polity of the Global Methodist Church. Following the completion of this training and with the endorsement of their local church, they are formally recognized to serve in ministry as part of the laity.

Certified Lay Ministers may serve in a wide range of ministry settings, including teaching, preaching, evangelism, worship leadership, congregational care, and other areas of church life. They remain lay members, and as such, are not appointed by a bishop or presiding elder. However, a bishop or presiding elder may request that a Certified Lay Minister serve beyond their home congregation when ministry needs arise.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” — Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)

What are the requirements to become a Certified Lay Minister?

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Professing GMC member for at least two years (¶502.2a).
Satisfactory completion of a course in lay ministry approved by the Ministry and Higher Education Commission, covering doctrine, history, polity, Bible knowledge (¶502.2b).
Satisfactory completion of at least one advanced course in a specific ministry area (¶502.2c).
National background check (¶502.2d).
Written pastor recommendation and endorsement by majority vote of the Pastor-Parish Relations Committee and the charge conference (¶502.2e).
Board of Ministry interview and approval (¶502.2f).
Renewal every three years requiring, annual report to the charge conference and annual conference board of ministry, endorsement by majority vote of the charge conference annually, written recommendation of renewal by the pastor, additional background check, and completion of one additional advanced course. The advanced course may be the same course taken by the student earlier (¶502.3 a, b, c, d, and e).

Areas of Study: Understanding the Call & Means of Grace, Basic Bible, Theology &, Doctrine of the GMC, Preaching, Global Methodist History and Polity, Congregational Care and Ethics, and Disciple-Making, Mission & Evangelism

Course Descriptions And Metrics