Lay Servant Academy
more training coming soon…
Lay Servant Academy VIRTUAL Fall Training
August 15th & 16th, 2025
*Includes several 5 week courses
Virtual Only
Registration Fee per course: $30.00/$15.00
**All courses have required books–Participants are responsible for the purchase of the book!
Basic Course
This course is foundational for all courses in Lay Servant Ministries. Participants are encouraged to discover and employ personal spiritual gifts as God intended and 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.
Instructor: Nicholas Abate
Required Reading: Lay Servant Ministries – Basic Course Sandy Zeigler Jackson and Brian Jackson Participant’s Book • DR626 • 978-0-88177-626-3 • $12.00
*This course provides Certification credit and renewal credit for Certified Lay Servants and Certified Lay Speakers.
Note: 2 hours of class time prior to class should be spent on reading the required materials for the class! *This applies only to those who are working towards Lay Servant Certifications or CEU’s.
For the Common Good: Discovering and Using Your Spiritual Gifts.
This course offers a scriptural understanding of spiritual gifts as
always given “for the common good.” By helping participants
identify and link their gifts, abilities, and sense of calling, laity will
learn the powerful connection between spiritual gifts and
vocational discernment in the context of the mission of their local
church.
Instructor: Jenn Robinson O’Brien with Jim Granger
Required Reading: For the Common Good: Discovering and Using
Your Spiritual Gifts Christine Harman Participant’s Book • DR958 •
978-0-88177-958-5
*This course provides Certification credit and renewal credit for Certified Lay Servants and Certified Lay Speakers.
Note: 2 hours of class time prior to class should be spent on reading the required materials for the class! *This applies only to those who are working towards Lay Servant Certifications or CEU’s.
Life Together in the United Methodist Connection (United Methodist Polity)
This course explores United Methodist Polity in order to
understand why we do what we do! Participants will better
understand the structure and organization of the UMC and that
challenges the church faces in today’s world..
INSTRUCTOR: Rev Andrew Ware
NOTE: Participants will also need a Book of Discipline.
Required Reading: The Method of Our Mission Laceye C. Warner
Participant’s Book • AB717 • 978-1-4267-6717-3
*This course provides Certification credit and renewal credit for Certified Lay Servants and Certified Lay Speakers.
Note: 2 hours of class time prior to class should be spent on reading the required materials for the class!
Called to Preach
This course is designed for those who have not completed formal preaching training, for pastors seeking a basic refresher course, and for others who are called upon to preach in a pastor’s absence. Instructor: TBD
Required Reading: From Pew to Pulpit Clifton F. Guthrie
*This course provides Certification credit and renewal credit for Certified Lay Servants and Certified Lay Speakers.
Note: 2 hours of class time prior to class should be spent on reading the required materials for the class! *This applies only to those who are working towards Lay Servant Certifications or CEU’s.
Accountable Discipleship
This course focuses on the concept of the household of God, Scripture as divine revelation, Wesleyan understandings of grace, and the importance of the class leader in the development of the Methodist movement.
Instructor: Richard Speirs
Required Reading: Accountable Discipleship Steven W. Manskar
*This course provides Certification credit and renewal credit for Certified Lay Servants and Certified Lay Speakers.
Note: 2 hours of class time prior to class should be spent on reading the required materials for the class! *This applies only to those who are working towards Lay Servant Certifications or CEU’s.
Certified Lay Minister (CLM) Orientation
This 2-hour orientation is designed to provide information about the two year CLM training for those who are considering a path toward CLM. We will spend time learning expectations of becoming a CLM while creating a network of peers who are also considering certification. If the participants discern that they are indeed called to become CLMs, this cohort will continue to support one another throughout the educational process (1-4 years) while learning how CLMs are functioning in the Virginia Conference.
Instructors: Joanna Dietz & Jenn Robinson-O’Brien
Suggested Reading: Roots and Routes by Randy Litchfield & Part Time is Plenty by G. Jeffrey MacDonald.
This course qualifies as one of the courses toward CLM specialization in Children’s Faith Formation.
Mission Possible 3: Lay Servants Leading and Governing Congregations with Simplified Accountable Structure (5 Week Course)
Through Simple Accountable Governance, clergy and laity are set free to lead with full accountability to Jesus’ Great Commission and the Charge Conference of the congregation.
Instructor: TBD
Required Reading: Mission Possible 3: by Kotan
*This course provides Certification credit and renewal credit for Certified Lay Servants and Certified Lay Speakers.
Note: 2 hours of class time prior to class should be spent on reading the required materials for the class! *This applies only to those who are working towards Lay Servant Certifications or CEU’s
SAVE THE DATE!
Winter Lay Servant Academy: February 20-21, 2026
Lay Servant Academy 2025
Lay Servant Academy VIRTUAL Winter Training
LSA Schedule–Friday & Saturday
Friday February 21st
6:30-6:50PM Welcome & Worship Zoom
7:00-9:00PM Class Session 1
Saturday, February 22nd
8:45 – 9:00 AM Gathering Time
9AM-12:00PM Class Session 2
12:00-1:00PM LUNCH Break
1:00-4:00PM Class Session 3
• Registration for additional Courses will close on Wednesday, February 26th at 5:00PM
*including a Lenten Sacraments Course that begins March 3rd AND a 5-week course on Ministry with the Forgotten.
Virtual Only
Registration Fee per course: $30.00/$15.00
Save the dates!
Contact Tianna Durbin [email protected], Director of Lay Servant Academy with questions!
Additional LSA Course Offerings
*Please note dates and times. *Additional fees apply!
Basic Course (10-hour course) *5 week Course on Thursday Evenings 7:00-9:00PM
Begins Thursday, February 27th
Course Instructor: Martha Stokes, Virginia Conference Lay Leader
Course Description: This course is designed to help laity and clergy deepen their
understanding of persons living with dementia and help all maintain their identity and worth as beloved children of God. Carter calls the church to a deeper discipleship defined by the quality of our caring and receiving relationships. Participants will discover what it means to carry each other’s memories, joys, and diminishments together in community. Through loving practices that nurture and incorporate persons with Alzheimer’s and dementia into the church’s life and ministry, we experience a spiritual wholeness rooted in God’s grace beyond our own strengths and capacities.
Required Reading: Ministry with the Forgotten: Dementia through a Spiritual Lens by Bishop Kenneth Carter
https://www.cokesbury.com/Ministry-with-the-Forgotten?refq=ministry%20with%20the%20forgotten
*This course is open to all! In addition, This course provides Certification credit and
renewal credit for Certified Lay Servants and Certified Lay Speakers *only to those
who attend all 5 sessions!
Course dates are as follows:
● February 27 – Dementia as a Medical and Theological Challenge (and Opportunity)
● March 6 – We are More than Our Capacities
● March 13 – Incarnation and Ministry of Presence
● March 20 – Dementia, Discipleship, and Grief
● March 27 – Toward a Dementia-Friendly Church
*Participants are welcome to take all 5 or choose which weeks to attend. Those
taking this course for Certification credit must attend all 5 sessions as stated
above.
Meets once per week March 3rd-April 16th
Instructors: Joanna Dietz, Richard Speirs, and Bert Cloud.
Course Description: This course will be led by various Clergy and Laity
throughout the season of Lent. Come grow in understanding of what it means
to gather around the communion table and be reminded of God’s great love
for us.
Those interested in this course will choose the instructor and time of choice.
**Participants may not change times once a time has been chosen! For those
pursuing certification credit, you must attend all class sessions.
Required Reading
1. This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy
Communion by Gayle Carlton Felton
https://store.upperroom.org/product/this-holy-mystery
2. By Water and the Spirit by Gayle Carlton Felton
https://store.upperroom.org/product/by-water-and-the-spirit
*This course provides Certification credit and renewal credit for Certified Lay Servants
and Certified Lay Speakers.
Note: 2 hours of class time prior to class should be spent on reading the
required materials for the class! *This applies only to those who are working
towards Lay Servant Certifications or CEU’s
Dates and Times: Choose only one option!
1. Tuesday Nights at 7pm; Instructor: Bert Cloud (Begins March 4th)
2. Wednesdays at 7:00PM; Instructor: Richard Speirs (Begins March 5th)
3. Fridays at 9:30AM; Instructor: Joanna Dietz (Begins March 7th)