Find information on upcoming LSM courses.
Certified lay servants need to satisfactorily complete Discipleship Ministries Basic Course and one advanced course.
Certified lay speakers need to have been previously certified as a certified lay servant and satisfactorily complete the following six Discipleship Ministries advanced courses: Leading Prayer, Spiritual Gifts, UM Heritage, UM Polity, Leading Worship and Preaching.
“To become a Certified Minister, you must first be a Certified Lay Servant, (See the Certified Lay Servant section above). The steps below may be used as a guide for the applicant, pastor, district and conference committees and the district superintendents for use in the initial certification and renewal of CLM candidates.
There have been several changes to the CLM program which are documented within this section. Please note that no one needs to apply to take any of the CLM classes offered, they are open to anyone.
Secondly, the educational requirements for CLM certification have changed to make CLM training more flexible, with two options. The first option utilizes the 4 Modules from Discipleship Ministries and the second option utilizes the Lay Academy for Rural Church Ministries. The 11 classes are no longer the required educational requirements to obtain CLM certification. The 11 classes are still being offered and can be used to complete coursework previously begun, or can be used to supplement the 4 Modules, or can be taken as advanced classes. The detail information regarding these changes is presented below. It is recommended you consult with your district director of LSM and district superintendent to determine the best training alternative for your particular need.
Besides the normal pastoral role of the CLM’s, they now have the opportunity with further training to specialize in the following areas: lay missioner, lay missionary/church planter, children's faith formation, men's ministry specialist, and United Methodist parish nurse. Find out more information on these ministries.
Satisfactorily complete the educational requirements:
Complete the Lay Academy for Rural Church Ministries CLM curriculum and
The coursework for the 4 Modules can be found through the BeADisciple website. The three additional classes (Old Testament, New Testament, and Preaching) may be found on the upcoming courses page. The Lay Academy for Rural Church Ministries courses can be found at larcm.org/lay-training.
For those students who began under the 11-class program they may continue to do so or they may transition to the mew training program. For further information please refer to the Lay Servant Ministries guidebook.
Stay up to date with the latest schedule of Lay Servant Ministries courses by checking back here regularly. Questions or ideas related to this section should be emailed to Jeanie Leeper at jleeper@greatplainsumc.org.
Books usually can be purchased via Cokesbury.com or UpperRoom.org. The coursework for the 4 Modules can be found through the BeADisciple website. The three additional classes (Old Testament, New Testament, and Preaching) may be found on the upcoming courses page. The Lay Academy for Rural Church Ministries courses can be found at larcm.org/lay-training.
Watch for upcoming learning opportunities on our calendar.
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