{"id":24856,"date":"2026-06-05T17:32:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T00:32:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greaternw.org\/news\/?p=24856"},"modified":"2026-06-05T17:35:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T00:35:15","slug":"lay-servant-ministries-foundational-advanced-courses-for-july-and-august-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greaternw.org\/news\/lay-servant-ministries-foundational-advanced-courses-for-july-and-august-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Lay Servant Ministries (foundational &amp; advanced) courses for July and August 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">By <a href=\"mailto:ekroen@yahoo.com\">Emilie Kroen<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lay Servant Ministries (foundational &amp; advanced) courses scheduled for July and August 2026<\/strong><br>There are multiple opportunities to get involved in Lay Servant Ministries (LSM). Check out the upcoming LSM courses on Zoom. Classes are open to laity throughout the Greater Northwest and Mountain Sky Areas. There are three <strong>first-time advanced course offerings:<\/strong> <em>Lay Servants as Christian Transformational Leaders, Lay Servants Lead in Conflict Resolution, <\/em>and<em> Opening Ourselves to Grace.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>For each of these courses, participants are required to\u00a0<\/strong>have purchased the book, read it, complete assignments and be fully engaged in all five sessions with audio and video capability active on Zoom. We highly recommend that the Foundations (Basic) course be completed prior to taking advanced courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Starting July 1, Lay Servant Ministries Advanced Course <\/strong><em>Opening Ourselves to Grace: Basic Christian Practi<\/em>ces<br><strong>July 1 &#8211; 29, 2026, Wednesdays 6:00 \u2013 8:00 pm PT; 7 to 9:00 pm MT.<br>(July 1, 8, 15, 22, &amp; 29)<\/strong><br><strong>COURSE DESCRIPTION:\u00a0<\/strong><em>Opening Ourselves to Grace <\/em>explores the basic practices of Christian faith and life from a Wesleyan perspective by examining John Wesley&#8217;s understanding of spiritual practice, Bible study, and other helpful resources.<br><strong>INSTRUCTOR:\u00a0 <\/strong>Cindy Abbey, Certified Lay Minister<br><strong>OFFERED BY: <\/strong>Oregon-Idaho Conference<br><strong>COST:\u00a0 <\/strong>There is no cost for the download of the participant\u2019s book<br><strong>BOOK:\u00a0 <\/strong><em>Opening Ourselves to Grace: The Means of Grace and Discipleship<\/em>. Participant Guide by <em>Steven W. Manskar <\/em>Available as PDF download at: UMCDiscipleship.org \/resources\/layservant-ministries-advanced-courses<br><strong>REGISTER by<\/strong> <strong>June 22, 2026. <\/strong>Email Emilie Kroen, <a href=\"mailto:ekroen@yahoo.com\">ekroen@yahoo.com<\/a> with your name, address, phone #, email address, and your church name &amp; city (where you hold your membership). Contact Cindy Abbey, csabbey1865@gmail.com with questions or need assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Starting July 7, Lay Servant Ministries Advanced Course <\/strong><em>Lay Servants as Christian Transformational Leaders<\/em><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong><br><strong>July 7 &#8211; 21, 2026, Tuesdays and Thursdays 6:00 \u2013 8:00 pm PT; 7 to 9 pm MT. (July 7, 9, 14, 16, &amp; 21)<\/strong><br><strong>COURSE DESCRIPTION:\u00a0<\/strong><em>Lay Servants as Christian Transformational Leaders <\/em>is designed to help lay servants consider some of the basic requirements of Christian transformational leaders in responding to the mission to make disciples for the transformation of the world and guides lay servants seeking to be more empowered to lead their congregations toward vitality.<br><strong>INSTRUCTOR:\u00a0 <\/strong>Virginia L Mills, Certified Lay Speaker &amp; District Director of Lay Servant Ministries, North Louisiana Annual Conference<br><strong>OFFERED BY: <\/strong>Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference<br><strong>COST:\u00a0 <\/strong>The cost of the book $18.00<br><strong>BOOK:\u00a0 <em>Lay Servants as Christian Transformational Leaders<\/em><\/strong>; <em>Marc Brown, Kathy Merry, John Briggs. <\/em>Participant\u2019s Book \u2022 DR881 \u2022 978-0-88177-881-6 \u2022 $18.00<br><strong>REGISTER by June 26, 2026. <\/strong>Email Emilie at <a href=\"mailto:ekroen@yahoo.com\">ekroen@yahoo.com<\/a>; Provide your Name, Home Address, email address, phone #, &amp; and your local church (where you hold your membership.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Starting August 3, Lay Servant Ministries Advanced Course <\/strong><em>Lay Servants Lead in Conflict Resolutio<\/em>n<br><strong>Aug 3 &#8211; 17, 2026, Mondays and Thursdays 6:00 \u2013 8:00 pm PT; 7 to 9 pm MT. (Aug. 3, 6, 10, 13, &amp; 17.)<\/strong><br><strong>COURSE DESCRIPTION:\u00a0<\/strong><em>Lay Servants Lead in Conflict Resolution<\/em> Every church deals with conflict, both healthy and unhealthy, and lay servants can be equipped and empowered to help lead through those times of conflict as a time of transformation.<br><strong>INSTRUCTOR:\u00a0 <\/strong>Virginia L Mills, Certified Lay Speaker &amp; District Director of Lay Servant Ministries, North Louisiana Annual Conference<br><strong>OFFERED BY: <\/strong>Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference<br><strong>COST:\u00a0 <\/strong>The cost of the book $25<br><strong>BOOK:\u00a0 <em>The spirit and Art of Conflict Resolution<\/em><\/strong> by Thomas Porter; Participant\u2019s Book \u2022 1026 \u2022 978-0-8358-1026-5 \u2022 $25.00<br><strong>REGISTER by June 26, 2026. <\/strong>Email Emilie at <a href=\"mailto:ekroen@yahoo.com\">ekroen@yahoo.com<\/a>; Provide your Name, Home Address, email address, phone #, &amp; and your local church name and city (where you hold your membership.) For those wondering what it means to be a Lay Servant, there is one foundational (Basic) course offering that could be for you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Foundation course for Lay Servant Ministries <\/strong><em>Lay Servant Ministries: The Basic Course<\/em><br><strong>Starting August 13 &#8211; 27, Thursdays and\u00a0\u00a0 Tuesdays 6:30 \u2013 8:30 pm PT; 7:30 to 9:30 pm MT. (Aug 13, 18, 20, 22 &amp; 27)<\/strong><br><strong>INSTRUCTOR:<\/strong> <strong>INSTRUCTOR: <\/strong>Rev. Sheila Miranda<br><strong>OFFERED by: <\/strong>PNW Conference<br><strong>REGISTER by August 3, 2026. <\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/event\/lay-servant-ministries-foundations-basic-course-3\/2026-08-13\/\">Visit the event description on the PNW website to learn more and register.<\/a> Contact Rev Sheila Miranda, at smiranda@pnwumc.org, with questions or if assistance is needed.\u00a0<br><strong>COURSE DESCRIPTION:\u00a0<\/strong>This is the foundational course for Lay Servant Ministries. It is designed to equip church leaders in the UMC. It explores: personal spiritual gifts, servant leadership, each leader&#8217;s role in developing future leaders, the importance of consistent spiritual practices, &#8220;God\u2019s call to a life of servanthood as a disciple of Jesus Christ and the core ministries of Leading, Caring, and Communicating and much more.\u201d<br><strong>COST:\u00a0 <\/strong>The cost of the book $13<br><strong>BOOK:\u00a0<\/strong> <em>Lay Servant Ministries: The Basic Course<\/em> By Sandy Zeigler Jackson and Brian Jackson. Participant\u2019s Book \u2022 DR626 \u2022 978-0-88177-626-3 \u2022 Participants\u2019 books available at Cokesbury and Upper Room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking ahead? The following courses are penciled in for September, October, or November 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><em>Lay Servant Ministries: The Basic Course<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>Accountable Discipleship<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>Called to Preach<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>Discover Your Spiritual Gifts<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>Fresh Expressions of Faith<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>Leading Prayer<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>Leading Public Prayer<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>Leading Worship<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>Life Together in the United Methodist Connection (Polity)<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>Living Our United Methodist Beliefs (Heritage)<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>The Millennial Narrative: Sharing the Good Life with the Next Generation<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In early August, all courses offered in September through November will be announced and ready to receive registrations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Multiple opportunities await in Lay Servant Ministries (LSM)! Upcoming courses on Zoom are open to laity throughout the Greater Northwest and Mountain Sky areas. To participate, you&#8217;ll need to purchase the course book, complete all readings and assignments, and engage fully in all five sessions with both audio and video active. Check out the courses and find the right fit for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":24858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[100],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-24856","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-laity"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lay Servant Ministries (foundational &amp; advanced) courses for July and August 2026 - Greater Northwest Area | News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/greaternw.org\/news\/lay-servant-ministries-foundational-advanced-courses-for-july-and-august-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lay Servant Ministries (foundational &amp; advanced) courses for July and August 2026 - Greater Northwest Area | News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Multiple opportunities await in Lay Servant Ministries (LSM)! 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