LAY SERVANT NEWS LAY SERVANT MINISTRIES l GREAT PLAINS CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH l SPRING 2016

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1 LAY SERVANT NEWS LAY SERVANT MINISTRIES l GREAT PLAINS CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH l SPRING GP Lay Servant Committee Members DAVID WASSERFALLEN, Five Rivers Dist. drw1490@hotmail.com MARVIN TISCHHAUSER, Flint Hills tseeds@tctelco.net JULIE SCHROPP, Kansas City Julie.schropp@gmail.com PAT MCREYNOLDS, Parsons District pemcreynolds@hotmail.com KIRK PEMBERTON, Topeka District kpembert1@gmail.com JAMES C. THOMPSON, Hays District jamiet@ruraltel.net DAN HUTTON, Dodge City District dthutton@sbcglobal.net PHYLLIS STOPPEL, Hutchinson District stoppelphyllis@hotmail.com JANICE GILLBERG & SUSAN HIGBEE Co-Chairs, Salina District jgillberg@wpmpath.com susan.higbee@cox.net DION LEFLER, Wichita East District lefler74@msn.com dlefler@wichitaeagle.com PAUL SAAS, Wichita West District paul@paulsaas.com JAN CLAASSEN, Blue River District jclaassen3@charter.net CAROL JEAN STAPLETON, Elkhorn Valley cstapleton@greatplainsumc.org ARDITH DAVENPORT, Gateway District a.r.davenport@gmail.com GLORIA LOUCH, Great West District gjlouch@gmail.com BRYAN HANKINS, Missouri Valley District heartlandhouse@cox.net JEANIE LEEPER, Prairie Rivers District leeps4christ@gmail.com MARY FEIT, Conference Director, Chair marykfeit@windstream.net CAROLYN MAY, Conf. Lay Leader Assoc. carolyncollinsmay@yahoo.com MICKI MCCORKLE, Conference Staff mmccorkle@greatplainsumc.org What is this thing we call Lay Servant Ministry? by David Wasserfallen When John Wesley was asked to assess a congregation, he responded with three questions: 1) Have they Faith? 2) Have they Fire? 3) Have they Fruit? A Lay Servant (or Lay Speaker) is a person then who, during the course of their life, has acquired faith, has encountered the fire of the Holy Spirit and who wants to bear fruit that is, to respond to the call they feel from God. All three elements are necessary without faith, we have no direction; without fire, we ll never get anything done; and without the will to bear fruit, we could again very easily wind up doing nothing. Another, more concise, way of saying this is embodied in the mission statement of my home church To know Christ, and to make Christ known. To approach the question from a slightly different angle, there was once a fairly popular saying to the effect that a Christian should be part of two groups one in which they were fed (to know Christ) and one in which they fed others (to make Christ known). All of the above is a fair description of a Lay Servant with one other factor added in. Everybody has spiritual gifts. Everyone s spiritual gifts are different. Some have the gift of preaching (ie: Lay Speakers), some have the gift of teaching (ie: leading a Bible or other faith based study), some are helpers, some are organizers, and some have other gifts. The Lay Servant responds to God s call by using the particular spiritual gifts they have been given to advance the kingdom of God in this world. In other words, a Lay Servant is also a leader. continued on page 2

2 Welcome, Great Plains Lay Servants Welcome to the first edition of the Great Plains Conference Lay Servant Ministries Newsletter. I see this as a wonderful way to encourage networking among all lay servants in the conference as well as supporting the work of the District Lay Servant Ministries Directors. The theme for the newsletter is pulled from David Wasserfallen s article included in this edition. David is the Five Rivers District LSM Director. Faith, Fire, and Fruit seems very appropriate for our role as lay servants in supporting the mission of the church. I also want to express my gratitude to Pam Savery, the Blue River District Administrative Assistant. As if she doesn t have enough to do, Pam volunteered to publish the newsletter for us. Pam is also a Lay Servant and very supportive of our movement. I hope you enjoy the information and find it helpful in discerning your place in this important work. Articles for this newsletter would be very welcome. Mary Feit, CLS, Great Plains Conference Lay Servant Ministries Director marykfeit@windstream.net In This Issue What is Lay Servant Ministry? P1-2 Welcome P2 Upcoming Training Opportunities P3 GP Lay Servant Ministries Committee.... P4 GP LSM Committee Grandfathers Lay Speakers P5 Lay Speaker Certification Courses P5 Dist.Committees Process Annual Reports.. P6 What is Lay Servant Ministry? continued from page 1 This may mean taking the pulpit to deliver a sermon, or it may mean leading a study of some sort, or doing a music ministry, or working with the youth, or helping at the local Food Pantry or Clothes Closet or it may mean something entirely different. Each Lay Servant choses their own path in their response to their call with the guidance and with the support of their local church, and the District and Conference Lay Servant Ministry committees. The two things that we can be sure of in this ministry is that there are needs out there in the world that are not being met, and that God has commanded us to love your neighbor as yourself. The Lay Servant is trying to respond to God s call to use their talents to spread God s kingdom in a hurt and broken world. There is plenty of opportunity. This may mean stepping outside the box coming up with solutions to problems in your ministry area that are innovative and tailored to the specific problem you re trying to address, instead of trying to apply cookie-cutter approaches without serious thought about what you re trying to accomplish. God deals with people, not with problems and so must the Lay Servant. Any problem needs to be approached with careful thought and prayer, remembering that we must deal with people, but as a preacher said in one memorable sermon at Annual Conference a number of years ago Our founder was so far outside the box that he wouldn t even stay in his own grave! With appropriate care, going outside the box can free us to work God s will more effectively. Where are the needs in your area? How can you be a force to help meet those needs? What is the best way to approach this situation? What does God want me to do here? These are some of the practical questions that Lay Servants face. But we can never lose sight of the fact that we re dealing with people. Or that we re trying to do God s will for this world.

3 Lay Servant Ministries Upcoming Training Opportunities DATE DISTRICT LOCATION TOPICS/COURSES CONTACT Fr-St. Mar Hutchinson Heartland Center Basic Course Fr-St. Mar Hutchinson Heartland Center Spiritual Gifts Fr-St. Mar Hutchinson Heartland Center Leading Worship Sat., Mar. 12 Elkhorn Valley Norfolk, Nebraska Leading in Prayer Sat., Mar. 12 Elkhorn Valley Norfolk, Nebraska Leading in Worship Th-St, Apr 7-9 Kansas City Kansas City, MO Pastoral Care click on Leawood, then Congregational Care Ministry Seminar Fr-St, Apr 8-9 Blue River Lincoln, Nebraska Multimedia Worship Sat., April 9 Gateway Dist Ord, Nebraska Basic Course pmccollough@greatplainsumc.org Sat., April 9 Gateway Dist Ord, Nebraska Discipleship pmccollough@greatplainsumc.org Sat., April 9 Gateway Dist Ord, Nebraska Leading in Prayer pmccollough@greatplainsumc.org Sat., April 9 Gateway Dist Ord, Nebraska Ministry & Aging pmccollough@greatplainsumc.org April Hays & Dodge Camp Lakeside Basic Course plahey@pld.com April Hays & Dodge Camp Lakeside Go Preach plahey@pld.com Fri-Saturday Camp Lakeside UM Center is near Scott City, KS Contact Patty Lahey, Registrar, with questions: 2711 Rd. Z, Moscow, KS H: / Cell: Fr-St, July 8-9 Prairie Rivers Hastings, NE Leadership leeps4christ@gmail.com

4 Faith Faith Faith Fire Fire Fire Fruit Fruit Fruit Great Plains Lay Servant Ministries Committee The first meeting of the Great Plains Lay Servant Ministries Committee (GPLSMC) occurred September 26, Many of us were able to gather in a central location (Kearney, Nebraska) and others joined us via teleconference. According to the Book of Discipline 2012, this committee is required as part of the organization and process for our ministry. Membership of the committee consists of the 17 Great Plains Conference District Directors. Ex Officio members include Carolyn May, representing the conference lay leaders, and Micki McCorkle of the conference staff. The conference committee s responsibilities include: Provide guidance and support to the District LSM Committees. Review and approve alternative courses as well as standards for the role of lay servant. Organize and/or encourage district and/or conference wide events. Assist district directors in maintaining accurate records. Provide final approval of Lay Speakers based on recommendations from the district committees. The committee met again on Saturday, February 20, The central gathering place was Salina, Kansas with others joining via teleconference. The agenda included approval of Lay Speakers for 2016, review of the strategic and communication plans, and review of policies and procedures. Mary Feit Great Plains Conference Lay Servant Ministries Director

5 Great Plains Conference Lay Servant Ministries Committee Grandfathers Lay Speakers On October 8, 2015 the Great Plains Lay Servant Ministries Committee agreed to grandfather Lay Speakers into the role if they were approved as Lay Speakers before January 1, The new requirements for Lay Speakers set forth by the 2012 General Conference did not address grandfathering. The Conference Committee developed this policy to address how to implement the Lay Speaker designation in the Great Plains Conference. All Lay Speakers are expected to comply with the new requirements. If a Lay Speaker certified before January 1, 2013 has not completed the required courses listed below, they will be counseled by their district committee to take those courses when reasonably possible. The following policy will apply to those grandfathered as well as all new applicants. Policy Lay Speaker status is not requested until the following courses are completed by Certified Lay Servants (unless grandfathered). The application will include the approval of the charge conference and the pastor s recommendation as indicated by their signatures on the application form. You may request a copy of the complete policy at marykfeit@windstream.net. Specific courses approved for Lay Speaker designation are: 1. Leading Worship - current Discipleship Ministries or previous GBOD (General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church) course on Worship, or BeADisciple.com Leading Worship 101 course. 2. Leading Prayer - current Discipleship Ministries or immediate past GBOD course focused on public prayer. 3. Discovering Spiritual Gifts current Discipleship Ministries or past GBOD course with no policy on the specific spiritual gifts inventory used. 4. Preaching either of the current Discipleship Ministries or one of the two GBOD courses Go Preach or From Your Heart to Theirs: Delivering an Effective Sermon. Only courses in which sermons were prepared as part of the course work will be accepted (i.e., the Alyce MacKenzie courses such as Five Alive will not be accepted). This course must be taken face-to-face. 5. UM Heritage - Living Our United Methodist Beliefs Discipleship Ministries course or past GBOD UM Heritage course. 6. UM Polity Current Discipleship Ministries or the GBOD course Life Together in the United Methodist Connection. 7. Basic Course any previously approved LSM Basic course is acceptable. This course must be taken faceto-face. Advance Course credit for teaching the Basic Course is not acceptable. Credit can be given for taking an advanced course if an individual teaches an Advance Course.

6 District LSM Committees Process Annual Reports Reviewing the Lay Servant/Lay Speaker Annual Reports is a responsibility of the District Lay Servant Ministries Committee according to the Book of Discipline. All Lay Servant Ministry (LSM) Annual Report forms, after processing through the individual s clergy and charge conference, are forwarded to the District LSM Director/Committee. Each District LSM Committee is given some latitude for setting standards for approval for each LSM role. The committee may also counsel each applicant on courses or other activities they believe would strengthen the individual s gifts and skills. Approval of each lay servant role must include the following: For approval as a Local Church Lay Servant, the requirement is to complete the Basic Course and retake the Basic Course, a Refresher Course, or an Advanced Course every three years. Also, the individual is expected to meet any other standards established by the district committee. For approval as a Certified Lay Servant, the requirement is to complete the Basic Course and at least one Advanced Course. To be renewed, the applicant must take an Advanced Course at least every three years. Also, the individual is expected to meet any other standards established by the district committee. For approval as a Lay Speaker, the educational requirement is to complete the Basic Course plus the six prescribed Advanced Courses (preaching, praying, planning worship, polity, spiritual gifts, and history). To be renewed, the applicant must take any Advanced Course at least every three years. Also, the individual is expected to meet any other standards established by the district committee. If a Lay Speaker certified before January 1, 2013 was grandfathered into the Lay Speaker role but has not completed the required courses listed above, they should be encouraged by their District Committee to take those courses when reasonably possible. This does not preclude them from taking other Advanced Courses. The Lay Speaker review must also include an interview process initially and every three years. The committee may decide to include other elements in this review such as a recording and/or evaluation of a sermon, evidence of mentoring, pulpit supply experience if applicable, description of devotional life, and other elements deemed appropriate by the district committee. Keep in mind the Lay Speaker role may or may not include pulpit supply. A letter of approval or disapproval is sent by the district to each Local Church Lay Servant or Certified Lay Servant. Lay Speaker Annual Reports are forwarded to the Conference LSM Committee for review. The conference will send letters to Lay Speakers.