Lay Servant Academy
2014
Erie-Meadville District
Perhaps you have felt God calling you to become more involved in your local church and community. Or perhaps you have discerned the need to develop your leadership skills. If so, Lay Servant Ministries courses can help you.
Lay Servant Ministries courses will prepare you for a multitude of missions and ministries, or improve your teaching and leadership skills, guide you in improving your devotional time, help you become an accountable disciple, or help you develop confidence in leading prayer.
Lay servants can serve in their local churches (local church lay servants) or become “certified lay servants” and serve in and beyond the local church.
By developing your leadership and ministry skills to become a lay servant, you will be enriched and encouraged by the network of other folks who are lay servants. If you choose to take the courses but not complete the requirements for lay servant status, you will still develop your skills for leadership, mission and ministry in order to serve God both in the church and beyond to the community around you and the world.
Teaching, serving, training, leading, participating, caring, loving, and communicating-- all are now important parts of Lay Servant Ministries.
Questions; Call Bill Barton
438 – 2169 or 1 – 814 – 873 – 1403
Or
Lay Servant Ministries Basic Course
This course is the foundation for all the other Learning & Leading courses.
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. The course offers guidelines for best practices as a church leader and in mission and ministry in the community and in daily life.
Let the Whole Church say Amen
To many people, prayer remains a mystery, and praying in public is a test
of faith left to the “professionals” of the church. Mary O. Benedict offers a
short course on praying in public to help you grow in confidence and skill in prayer, both public and personal. Benedict’s deep passion grows from her awareness of prayer as an intimate connection to God. She teaches you to encourage deeper and more vital prayer among all Christians
Go Preach Basic Advanced
Laypersons who are called to preach on occasion, but who are not formally trained as preachers, will find this simple, direct booklet to be both practical and accessible. Designed for lay speakers, lay leaders, pastors and student pastors who have not completed formal preaching training, pastors seeking a basic refresher course, and others who are called upon to preach in their pastor’s absence.
Accountable Discipleship:
Living in God’s Household is a book about pastoral leadership in the Wesleyan tradition. Pastoral leadership is the ministry of caring for the household of God. Both laity and clergy are called to this ministry. Those who read and study this book will be invited to discover their own ministry as pastoral leaders. All who follow Jesus Christ and seek to obey his teachings to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind,” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt.22:37, 39, NLT) have the potential to be pastoral leaders for their congregation. They are pastoral leaders because others see and experience the grace of Jesus Christ through their lives. They are spiritual, servant leaders who follow the example of Jesus. These are ordinary people. They are laity and clergy. They are people like you. A foundational piece for anyone involved in Accountable Discipleship ministries, this resource explores a systematic approach for undertaking and accepting the challenge of personal discipleship for life. It is designed for leaders of Accountable Discipleship ministries, members of Covenant Discipleship groups, class leaders, and clergy.
The Christian Small Group Leader
Grounded in scripture and the Wesleyan tradition,The Christian Small-Group Leaderblends knowledge about the dynamics of small groups with our call to form disciples. Leaders of all types of small groups will find both inspiration and practical help to carry out their ministry.
Making Disciples : Faith Formation in the Wesleyan Tradition
How is it that we come to know ourselves as Christians? What were the elements of John Wesley’s work that contributed to spiritual formation for a Christian life, and how did these elements interrelate? Focusing on matters of formation and transformation in faith, Sondra Matthaei answers such questions in light of early Methodist practices of formation. Through research and dialogue with Wesleyan scholarship and constructive proposals related to the life of the church, this insightful study encourages faithful and imaginative approaches to spiritual formation in churches today.
The focus of this book is on matters of formation and transformation in faith. The bookanswers the question "How do we come to know ourselves as Christian?"and analyzes this question in light of early Methodist practices of formation and ecology of education within the Methodist movement.The reader will come to understand John Wesley's idea of character formation and moral transformation.The reader will understand how Christian and vocation are shaped through spiritual formationandwill understand the role of structures and relationships (family, school, church, etc.) in spiritual formation.
Two separate school locations are available.
Option 1: Saegertown UMC
Sundays: March 9 – April 6 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Basic Lay Servant Ministries
Go Preach Advanced Basic
Let the Whole Church Say Amen
(Praying in Public)
The Christian Small Group Leader
Option 2: Asbury UMC, Waterford
Tuesdays: March 11 – April 8 6:30 – 8:30 p.m
Basic Lay Servant Ministries
Go Preach Advanced Basic
Accountable Discipleship
Making Disciples : Faith Formation
in the Wesleyan Tradition
Cost: $25.00 registration fee covers books and materials
To register
· complete the enrollment form
· write check to Erie-Meadville District UMC,
· mail form and check to:
· Matt Koehler 16615 Maple Drive Saegertown, PA 16433
Register by February 16
Choose from the course options listed and send your registration with $25. payment by February 16, 2014. Early registrations are much appreciated. Registering earlier helps us order books and other materials on a timely schedule.
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Enrollment Form
Name ______
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What Class ______
If taking Basic or Advanced class please put down which location you choose
Asbury, Waterford ______Saegertown ______