Lay Servant Ministries

BeADisciple.com is proud to host online advanced courses in Lay Servant Ministries! These courses are open to all people who want to lead well in whatever ministry context they find themselves – church, community, home, or work.

Lay Servant Ministries (LSM) courses are approved by Discipleship Ministries as required to renew UMC certification as a Certified Lay Servant, Certified Lay Speaker, or Certified Lay Minister. You’ll notice the “learning and leading” logo on all Discipleship Ministries-approved LSM courses. 

What people are saying:

“I am so glad that I conquered my nerves and jumped into this LSM class! I love that I can interact with people around the country that I would never meet otherwise – how wonderful is that?! Being in a study with the same people locally is comfortable, but being in a class with someone from Alaska or West Texas exposes me to people with different backgrounds and experiences than I will ever encounter otherwise.”

“The BeADisciple course offerings cover many aspects of church leadership and are flexible for busy church leaders or Christians that are interested in more information on the topical courses. I completed requirements for the Lay Speaker courses in about 8 months. The instructors are excellent and the courses and resources are wonderful.”

“I completed my coursework to be a Certified Lay Speaker and was certified at our recent charge conference. I started the journey last October and hoped to complete the courses in a year. I was able to do that only through BeADisciple.com and am very grateful for the mission of your program.”

“Because of health problems and lack of availability of Lay Servant courses [near me], my journey took three years. I would not have been able to complete it without the availability of the BeADisciple courses.”

Core Advanced Courses

See Core Courses

Additional Advanced Courses

See Additional Courses

Core Advanced Courses

These courses meet the initial educational requirements to become a Lay Speaker. 

These courses also meet the continuing education requirements for renewal of Certified Lay Servant (one advanced course every 3 years), Certified Lay Speaker (one advanced course every 3 years), or Certified Lay Minister (one advanced course every 2 years).

Click links to see the full course description and enrollment dates, or sign up for email notifications.

Polity Course:

Life Together in the United Methodist Connection

    • October 12 – 30, 2026
    • November 30 – December 18, 2026
Heritage Course:

Living Our United Methodist Beliefs

    • September 28 – October 16, 2026
    • November 16 – December 5, 2026
Worship Course:

Leading Worship (Friday Zoom option) (Saturday AM Zoom option) (Saturday PM Zoom option)

    • October 5 – 17, 2026
    • November 30 – December 12, 2026
Prayer Course:

Leading Public Prayer

    • October 19  – 30, 2026
    • December 07 – 18, 2026
Preaching Course Alternatives:

Called to Preach (Friday Zoom option) (Saturday Zoom option)

    • October 26 – November 06, 2026

 

From Your Heart to Theirs: Delivering an Effective Sermon (Friday Zoom option) (Saturday Zoom option)

    • November 02 – November 14, 2026
Spiritual Gifts Course Alternatives:

Rediscovering Our Spiritual Gifts

    • October 05 – 16, 2026

 

For the Common Good: Discovering and Using Your Spiritual Gifts

    • December 07 – 18, 2026

Additional Advanced Courses

The courses below meet CLM and LSM re-certification requirements. Click on the title to see the course description, enroll, or sign up for a notification email when enrollment is available.

Afire With God: Becoming Spirited Stewards

    • November 9 – 20, 2026

Aging and Ministry in the 21st Century

    • New dates coming soon

Becoming Accountable Disciples

    • New dates coming soon

Biblical Storytelling I

    • November 2 – 14, 2026

Biblical Storytelling II

    • January 11 – 30, 2027

Campus Ministry: Empowering Congregations to Support Students

    • October 19 – 30, 2026

Children of Abraham

    • September 28–October 30, 2026

Class Leaders: Recovering A Tradition

    • November 9–20, 2026

Come to the Table

    • New dates coming soon

Come to the Waters

    • New dates coming soon

Creating a Discipleship Growth Plan to See All the People

    • October 12 – 23, 2026

Devotional Life in the Wesleyan Tradition

    • November 30–December 11, 2026

Earn. Save. Give.

    • September 28 – October 9, 2026

Embracing Personal Prayer 

    • New dates coming soon

Fresh Expressions for Being the Church Today

    • New dates coming soon

God’s Mission, Our Journey

    • October 5–17, 2026

Justice and Kindness: Social Principles of the United Methodist Church

    • October 12 – 23, 2026

Lay Pastoral Caregiving

    • October 19 – 30, 2026

Lay Servants as Christian Transformational Leaders

    • November 2 – 13, 2026

Leading Bible Study: Biblical Interpretation

    • November 9 – 20, 2026

Leading Missional Small Groups

    • October 26 – November 7, 2026

Loving People and Planet in God’s Name

    • October 19–30, 2026

Ministry with People Living with Dementia

    • October 26 – November 6, 2026

Opening Ourselves to Grace: Basic Christian Practices 

    • October 12 – 23, 2026

Patterned by Grace: How Worship Shapes Us

    • New dates coming soon

Proclaiming Scripture with a Storytelling Spirit for Lent

    • New dates coming soon

Proclaiming Scripture with a Storytelling Spirit for Summer

    • New dates coming soon

Proclaiming Scripture with a Storytelling Spirit for Advent

    • November 16 – December 21, 2026

Teaching Sacred Tension in Local Congregations

    • November 23 – December 4, 2026

Teaching Biblical Faith: Leading Small Group Bible Studies

    • New dates coming soon

Transforming Evangelism

    • November 9 – 20, 2026

Questions about our Advanced LSM courses

Will these courses fulfill ALL my education requirements for certification?

Not entirely — but they do help! We don’t currently offer the BASIC Lay Servant Ministries course required to become a Certified Lay Servant in the United Methodist Church; you’ll have to take that course locally. We offer all six courses required for initial Lay Speaker certification (listed in the Core Advanced Courses section above)!

These courses will help you renew your status as a Certified Lay Servant, Certified Lay Speaker, or Certified Lay Minister.  Although you should note: while all of our LSM advanced courses are approved by Discipleship Ministries, you are advised to check with your own district laity director and conference LSM committee to make sure this online coursework will be accepted in your area, as each district and conference has its own set of guidelines.

Can I take these courses if I'm not an LSM, Lay Speaker, CLM, or even United Methodist?

Of course!  Anyone is welcome to enroll in these courses for a great learning experience.

What happens when I complete an LSM course with BeADisciple.com?

Upon successful completion of these courses, you will receive a certificate of completion; however, it is your responsibility to self-report completion to your own district or conference system.  We do not report this on your behalf, but we will confirm your completion upon inquiry from your district or conference if requested.

Where do I find more information?

For more information on Lay Servant Ministries, we recommend the LSM Catalog from Discipleship Ministries, the LSM Brochure from Discipleship Ministries, and the BeADisciple LSM flyer.