Lay Ministry Contacts

District Lay Leaders | District Directors of Lay Servant Ministries
Conference Committee on Lay Servant Ministries | District Committee on Ordained Ministry

District Lay Leaders

District Lay Leaders are elected leaders who provide for the training of local church lay leaders for ministries in the local church, are responsible for fostering awareness of the role of the laity in the church and community, and support active lay participation in the planning and decision-making of the district and local churches. They may serve as a lay member of the District Committee on Lay Servant Ministries, the Conference Committee on Lay Servant Ministries, and the District Committee on Ordained Ministry. The District Lay Leaders in the Baltimore-Washington Conference are as follows:

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District Directors of Lay Servant Ministries

The District Director of Lay Servant Ministries is a certified layperson who chairs as the District Director on the District Committee on Lay Servant Ministries. In addition to the director, membership of the committee will include the district lay leader, the district superintendent, and an instructor of lay servant courses. Other resource people may be added as needed. The committee provides training for lay servants as recommended by the General Board of Discipleship, or as approved by the Conference Committee on Lay Servant Ministries; decides who will be recognized as certified lay servants; helps match certified lay servants with service opportunities; and supports and affirms certified lay servants, certified lay speakers and certified lay ministers as they serve.  The following are the District Directors of Lay Servant Ministries in the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

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Conference Committee on Lay Servant Ministries

The purpose of the Conference Committee on Lay Servant Ministries is to set criteria and guidelines for District Committees on Lay Servant Ministries, to develop lay servant courses and approve courses developed by District Committees, and to organize conference-wide lay servant events.

• A Certified Lay Servant completes the Basic Lay Servant Ministries Course and an Advance Lay Servant Ministries Course and is presented by their District Director or District Committee on Lay Servant Ministries as a Certified Lay Servant to the Conference Committee on Lay Servant Ministries. This includes a request for renewal after the submittal of the annual report to the charge conference or church council giving evidence of satisfactory performance as a Certified Lay Servant. 
• A Certified Lay Speaker completes the steps for Certified Lay Servant and the track of study for Certified Lay Speaker is to request an interview from the District Director or District Committee on Lay Servant Ministries who submits to the Conference Committee on Lay Servant Ministries for approval and certification of Certified Lay Speaker or recertification of Certified Lay Speaker.
• A Certified Lay Minister who completes the steps for Certified Lay Ministry is recommended by the District Committee on Ordained Ministry to the Conference Committee on Lay Servant Ministries for approval and certification of Certified Lay Ministry or recertification of Certified Lay Ministry.  

District Committee on Ordained Ministry & Certified Lay Ministry

Those who complete the Certified Lay Ministry program are to request an interview with their District Committee on Ordained Ministry for approval and recommendation for certification as a Certified Lay Minister. The Certified Lay Minister candidate presents to their DCOM their Affirmation Form with the recommendation and ministry review by the church council or charge conference from the congregation of which he/she is a member, verification of satisfactory completion of the coursework or recertification coursework, and any additional information requested at the time of the interview. The DCOM will submit to the Conference Committee on Lay Servant Ministries a recommendation for approval or denial of certification for the Certified Lay Minister or recommendation or denial for recertification of the Certified Lay Minister.

 

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