1. ACDLSM Education Committee Team Report
ANNUAL MEETING 2017
ACDLSM Education Committee Team Report
Bob Aderholt Roger Curless
Blanche Farnam Linda Flanagan
Pat Hogan Barb Lee Vicki Poindexter
Janet Sligar Peggy Suthern
Becky Walker Mary Williams
Introduce the Education Committee – Bob Aderholt, Roger Curless, Blanche Farnam, Linda Flanagan, Barb Lee, Vicki Poindexter, Janet Sligar, Peggy Suthern, Becky Walker and Pat Hogan.

2. Key Points in the Review of Resources
The function of the Lay Servant Education Committee is to review Lay Servant materials to be offered through Discipleship Ministries. Key points for reviewing: look for these guidelines on the Discipleship Ministries website
It takes time to develop new courses and part of that job falls to the Education Committee. We meet via conference call several times a year to discuss and evaluate the courses that are presented for consideration.
They follow the Key Points in the Review of Resources found on the Discipleship Ministries website.
But before we look at the courses in the catalog I would like to share the story of a layman who was an exhorter – a Lay Servant – during the formation of church of our faith in Colorado and New Mexico.

3. The Snowshoe Itinerant
This is Father John Dyer -the Snowshoe Itinerant - so named because he carried the word of God over the mountains of Colorado, crossing 13,000 foot Mosquito Pass several times every week in all weather conditions.
In the summer he crossed with a burro, in the winter he crossed on snow shoes. Ministers received very minimal pay then, so he carried the mail on his journeys to support his ministry.
Father Dyer was not a Catholic. Though the people called him father he was a Methodist who followed the call to become an ordained minister.

4. Father Dyer’s journey to becoming an ordained minister
He began as an exhorter
He was later appointed a Lay Preacher
Then Ordained and became one of the first Circuit Riders in the west
Autobiography – “The Snow Shoe Itinerant”
Biography - “Look for Me in Heaven”
So, why am I telling you about this Methodist preacher? Because he was first an exhorter – now known as a Lay Servant.
He was then appointed as a Lay Pastor, and finally became an ordained minister.
He is credited with taking the Methodist faith to villages in much of New Mexico, as well as his travels over the mountains of Colorado.
His biography, “Look for Me in Heaven”, is so named because he carved those words on a tree when stranded on Mosquito Pass during a blizzard.
His Autobiography – The Snow Shoe Itinerant” tells the stories of his journeys to spread the word of God to small communities being settled in this wilderness area using snowshoes as his transport.

5. Father John Dyer stained glass window in the Colorado State Capitol rotunda
Father Dyer was a legend in the Colorado mining camp where I grew up. He is commemorated in a stained glass window in the Colorado State Capitol rotunda.
He was selected for that honor to represent the spiritual development of the State of Colorado when the capitol was built.
John Dyer is just one example of the call to ordained ministry that can begin with becoming a Lay Servant.
Another man called that way is Thomas Maxfield. I know we have some called that way in the Cal Pac Conference.
Do you have some ministers in your conference that started their journey as Lay Speakers?

6. The Historic Journey Exhorter Lay Speaker Lay Servant
Leading Caring Communicating
The Historic Journey
Exhorter
Lay Speaker
Lay Servant
Here we now we see the progression of the journey that brought us to our current Lay Servant status. John Wesley himself established the office of Exhorter.

7. Leading Caring Communicating
What are Lay Servants called to do?
Leading Caring Communicating
So --- what are Lay Servants called to do?? On the outside circle of our emblem are the words Leading, Caring, Communicating.
Those are the fields of ministry that we endeavor to pursue. Let’s look at each of them individually.

8. LEADING LAY SERVANTS SERVE BY
Lay Servants serve in many ways, and in many places. We lead in our local churches. We lead in our districts, and in our conferences. We lead beyond that, too.
We go out into the world and lead in our communities, at our work places, in our homes and with our families.
How do we lead? Our greatest leadership is our leading by example.
We are Lay Servants, and we lead by being a servant everywhere we are.

9. CARING LAY SERVANTS SERVE BY
Our second field of endeavor is to serve by caring. We do this in many ways. We care though nurturing others – our families and friends, our church families, our communities.
We reach out to those who are homeless and in prison, children who need love and support.
We care by volunteering in classrooms at schools and nurturing children who need help there.
We visit the elderly and sick and those who are lonely.
By doing all these things and more, we take the love of Christ to others - because we are his servants.

10. COMMUNICATING LAY SERVANTS SERVE BY
Lay Servants are charged with communicating – especially communicating the love of God to everyone we encounter and the world around us.
We do that by teaching, by listening,, by sharing our faith stories. We do it by writing and by singing.
We share our journey and tell our stories, sometimes from the pulpit, sometimes in a classroom, sometimes leading meetings.
But most of all we communicate by praying – to God and with others, thanking him for his gift of salvation.

11. BeADisciple Learning and Leading Courses online
Online class symbol
BeADisciple Learning and Leading Courses are online courses that can be taken for Advanced Lay Servant credit. Some of the courses are the same as our traditional courses.
They can be identified in your Lay Servant Ministries Catalog by the logo seen on the screen.
One student told us “High up on the list of why these classes work so well is the interaction with other classmates, committed Christians with questions and answers worth listening to”.
BeADisciple also offers online courses that do not qualify for Lay Servant credit.
Be sure and look for the LSM designation if you are selecting one of the classes for credit. Look under the Affiliation Category in the BeADisciple catalog.
A student’s comment on BeADisciple Courses…
“High up on the list of why these classes work so well is the interaction with other classmates, committed Christians, with questions and answers worth listening to”

12. Other BeADisciple Learning and Leading Courses can be found at
BeADisciple also offers online courses that do not qualify to receive LS credit. Be sure and look for the LSM designation if you are selecting a class for credit.
Look under the Affiliation Catagory in the BeADisciple catalog at the address listed on the screen.
look for the “Affiliation” Column
in the list of courses

13. Many other online classes mirror our traditional classes
New Online Courses
Children of Abraham
Afire with God
Transforming Evangelism
Teach Adults
What’s new in online courses??? BeADisciple is now offering “Children of Abraham”, a study in our shared faith roots.
Added this year are other traditional classes online. They are“ Afire with God”, “Transforming Evangelism,” and “Teach Adults.
Many other online classes mirror our traditional classes
Available at

14. Classes only online Come to the Waters Come to the Table
Children of Abraham
Come to the Waters
Come to the Table
Biblical Storytelling I
Biblical Storytelling II
Multimedia Technology in Worship
for the Church Volunteer
Some classes are only online. Children of Abraham and the others listed above as well as Lay Servant traditional classes can be found in the BeADisciple catalog.

15. 2017 LAY SERVANT MINISTRIES
All of you should have copies of this new 2017 Lay Servant Ministries catalog. There is a lot of information to be found in the pages so take time to read through it.
Be sure and note the information on how to order more copies of the catalog on the back page.
Let’s look now at some of the resources found in this new Lay Servant Catalog. 15

16. New Courses Called to Preach Leading Bible Study
Leading Missional Small Groups
Lay Servants Lead in Conflict Resolution
Let’s look at the new classes first. We have four new classes this year. And guess what? We will be reviewing two of them, Called to Preach and Leading Missional Small Groups on Saturday.
Called to Preach is the new preaching course and replaces “Go Preach! It teaches how to develop a sermon and do it well.
Leading Missional Small Groups concentrates on forming missional small groups in the Wesleyan way. Its purpose is for communities to make it a mission to take God’s love to the world.
Lay Servants Lead in Conflict Resolution utilizes case studies and a small group interactive format. It will empower and equip lay servants to move through conflict to transformation.
Leading Bible Study provides a journey for biblical interpretation as Lay Servants lead in Bible study in local churches and beyond.

17. Work in process History of the Wesleyan Movement
Songs in Worship: UM Hymnody
Accountable Discipleship in Spanish
Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts in English
and Spanish
Opening Our Doors to All God’s Children
The Education team is also working on several other new courses to be added to our curriculum when completed.
History of the Wesleyan Movement will give us a new chance to follow our faith journey and its roots.
Songs in Worship: UM Hymnody will follow the development of hymns in our United Methodist music.
Opening Our Doors to All God’s Children and Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts in both English and Spanish are also in process.
Our goal is to have some of these available by the end of this year.

18. More Work
in Process
Revolutionizing Christian Stewardship in the 21stCentury
Lay Servants as Christian
Transformational Leaders
More Work in Process
Revolutionizing Christian Stewardship in the 21st Century focuses on connectional living and will include lessons about apportionments.
Lay Servants as Christian Transformational Leaders is also being developed. Its focus is on vitality in our congregations.

19. In the picture for 2018
Introduction to Lay Servant Ministries: The Basic Course Youth Addendum Development of Power Points for current courses
Looking forward to 2018 we are working on bringing innovation to youth through an addendum to the Lay Servants Basic Class.
We would welcome ideas that you have that we could consider for this.
We are also working to find and develop Power Points presentations for our current courses.

20. Speaking of the Basic Course
Did you know >>>>>>>
there are tools available to
enhance your leading of the Basic Course?
Some of them are >>>>>>>
A Power Point presentation
Charts
Devotions for each session
Evaluation forms
Spiritual gifts inventory
Find them at to-lay-ministry-the-BASIC-course
Discipleship Ministries offers many tools to enhance our classes. For the Basic Course there is a new 126 slide Power Point presentation, as well as Charts and Evaluation Forms for the Class.
A spiritual gifts inventory is also available as well as Devotions for each of the five class sessions. They make preparing for and leading this class much easier.
Just go to the website listed on the screen to find these tools for the Basic Course and others like them.

21. Alternative Advanced Courses
Each annual conference has the authority to approve Alternative Advanced Courses for credit Guidelines to evaluate a course for alternative credit are found on page 33 of the catalog
In addition to the courses available in our catalog and in the BeADisciple online courses we cam develop Alternative Advanced Courses in our own conferences.
When considering using an Alternative Advanced Course please look at the Guidelines to evaluate courses for Alternative Credit found on Page 33 of the catalog.
Approval for Alternative Advanced courses rests with each Conference Committee of Lay Servant Ministries in your annual conference.
Seal of Approval

22. Additional Resources Online
Guide for Conference
and District Directors
Separate Annual Reports for
Certified Lay Servant
Certified Lay Speaker
Certified Lay Minister
Forms from the Directors Handbook
Discipleship Ministries info and certificates
Coming soon
Please note! Our revised Guide for Conference and District Director is being completed and will soon be available. It will have a uniform format, including devotions.
A printed guide will be available only if it is too large for downloading. Forms will also be found in the Directors handbook.
Lay Servant Annual Reports – Separate reports for Certified Lay Servants, Certified Lay Speakers and Certified Lay Ministers are available at the web address listed on the screen.
Certificates are available online and can be filled in and printed.

23. Additional Resources
Additional Resources are available through Discipleship Ministries Upper Room Bookstore. Shown on the screen are Conference and District Lay Leaders Manual, Lay Servant Ministries Guide,
Lay Leader/ Lay Member Guidelines, Job Descriptions and Leadership Training and What Every Leader Needs to Know About Leading Meetings.
They are invaluable tools for church leaders.

24. Questions ?
Jodi Cataldo 
Questions? Jodi – you have the floor.