Lay ministry

Lay ministry is a term used for ministers of faiths in Christian denominations who are not ordained in their faith tradition. Lay ministers are people who are elected by the church, full-time or part-time. They may have theological degrees and training, which may be required in certain instances, but not all lay ministries require this qualification. Lay ministers are generally chosen in small communities where it is difficult to find professional clergy to serve or serve in roles in which lay ministers are appropriate to fulfill the pastoral duties (ex: a Catholic hospital chaplain does not have to be an ordained priest). In most Protestant churches, deacons, Sunday School teachers, youth ministers, and praise teams are considered lay ministry positions.

Role

The lay ministry's role and importance varies, depending on confession and regional situation:

Examples

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops uses the term Lay ecclesial ministry for a category of non-ordained (non-priest) pastoral ministers.[1]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uses the term lay ministry to describe the bishops, stake presidents and other ecclesiastical leaders that are not full-time or paid clergy.

See also
  • Gordon Cheng (1 July 2007). "Let's abolish lay ministry".

References
  1. Katie Bahr. "The next generation of lay ministers".


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