Discovering Your Call and Gifts / Introduction to Lay Servant Ministries

This course will help you discover your call and gifts for ministry. During the course you will take a spiritual gifts inventory, explore your gifts for ministry, read how God called those in the Bible, consider how your call might be similar to theirs, and develop a clear statement of your call and gifts for ministry.

Course Objectives

  1. Students will explore and be able to articulate their spiritual gifts for ministry.
  2. Students will be able to share their call to ministry and identify a biblical theme that has informed their call to ministry.
  3. Students will be able to understand the mission and ministry of the church.
  4. Students will understand the varieties of leadership in the church.
  5. Students will understand the steps into ministry.
  6. Students will either develop a Mutual Ministry Team (if serving as assigned pastor to the local church/churches) or a Covenant Ministry Team if preparing to serve a local church or ministry beyond the local church.

Required Texts

Please obtain your textbooks before the course begins.

Bryant, Charles V. Your Spiritual Gifts Inventory. Nashville: Upper Room Books, 1997. (This pamphlet will be sent to you in the mail after your registration is complete.)

United Methodist Publishing House. The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2016. Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 2016. You can also read the 2016 Book of Discipline online.

Jackson, Sandy. Lay Servant Ministries: Basic Course Participant’s Book. Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2017.

Dates and Details

This course is online. See Minimum Requirements for Online Learning.
The course includes online meetings. A webcam and microphone or headset are required. A high speed internet connection is recommended. Participants work online asynchronously between meetings.

Fee

$25

Contact

Rev. Dr. Carl K. Ellis

Facilitator(s)

Rev. Dr. Carl K. Ellis

Carl Ellis

Rev. Dr. Carl K. Ellis
Founder, Executive Director, Lead Facilitator, Board Member, CEO
Montana

The Rev. Dr. Carl K. Ellis, founder and executive director of The Academy for Small Membership Church Ministries, grew up in a small membership church in San Francisco California. He has served as a pastor for 45 years; 40 years in rural churches and 5 years on the Kansas West Conference Staff as Director of the Center for Small Membership Churches.

Learn more

Who Can Apply

Registration for this course requires successful application for the Certified Lay Ministry program.