BeADisciple.com is proud to host online advanced courses in Lay Servant Ministries! LSM advanced courses are required to renew your recognition as a Certified Lay Servant, Certified Lay Speaker, or Certified Lay Minister.
These courses are approved by Discipleship Ministries (formerly the General Board of Discipleship). You’ll notice the “learning and leading” logo on all Discipleship Ministries-approved LSM courses.
“I was a little daunted to take one of these lay servant courses online but I feel like I’ve actually spent more quality time with the book and my fellow learners than I usually do with a regular, live course!”
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. Click here for a chart of start dates for all initial LSM requirement courses in 2025.
Polity Course:
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- Life Together in the United Methodist Connection
- November 17 – December 6, 2025
- February 23 – March 13, 2026
- April 27 – May 15, 2026
- June 8 – 26, 2026
- August 10 – 28, 2026
- October 12 – 30, 2026
- November 30 – December 18, 2026
- Life Together in the United Methodist Connection
Heritage Course:
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- Living Our United Methodist Beliefs
- January 5 – 23, 2026
- March 2 – 20, 2026
- May 18 – June 5, 2026
- July 27 – August 14, 2026
- September 28 – October 16, 2026
- November 16 – December 5, 2026
- Living Our United Methodist Beliefs
Worship Courses:
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- Leading Worship
- November 3-14, 2025
- January 19 – 30, 2026
- March 09 – 20, 2026
- May 18 – 29, 2026
- July 20 – July 31, 2026
- September 21 – October 02, 2026
- November 09 – November 20, 2026
- Leading Worship
Prayer Course:
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- Leading Public Prayer
- February 09 – 20, 2026
- April 13 – 24, 2026
- June 15 – 26, 2026
- August 24 – September 4, 2026
- October 19 – 30, 2026
- December 07 – 18, 2026
- Leading Public Prayer
Preaching Course Alternatives:
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- Called to Preach (Friday Zoom option) (Saturday Zoom option)
- November 10-21, 2025
- December 8-19, 2025
- February 16 – 28, 2026
- April 06 – 18, 2026
- June 08 – 20, 2026
- August 03 – 15, 2026
- October 26 – November 06, 2026
- Called to Preach (Friday Zoom option) (Saturday Zoom option)
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- From Your Heart to Theirs: Delivering an Effective Sermon (Friday Zoom option) (Saturday Zoom option)
- December 1-12, 2025
- January 12 – 24, 2026
- May 04 – 16, 2026
- July 06 – 18, 2026
- September 14 – 26, 2026
- November 02 – November 14, 2026
- From Your Heart to Theirs: Delivering an Effective Sermon (Friday Zoom option) (Saturday Zoom option)
Spiritual Gifts Course Alternatives:
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- Rediscovering Our Spiritual Gifts
- October 13-24, 2025
- February 02 – 13, 2026
- April 20 – May 01, 2026
- June 01 – 12, 2026
- August 17 – 28, 2026
- October 05 – 16, 2026
- Rediscovering Our Spiritual Gifts
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- For the Common Good: Discovering and Using Your Spiritual Gifts
- December 1-12, 2025
- January 26 – February 06, 2026
- March 16 – 27, 2026
- May 11 – 22, 2026
- July 13 – 24, 2026
- September 21 – October 02, 2026
- December 07 – 18, 2026
- For the Common Good: Discovering and Using Your Spiritual Gifts
Additional Advanced Courses
The courses below meet 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
- Nov. 10 – 21, 2025
- Aging and Ministry in the 21st Century
- March 16- 29, 2025
- Becoming Accountable Disciples
- Biblical Storytelling I
- Nov. 3 – 15, 2025
- Biblical Storytelling II
- Children of Abraham
- Class Leaders: Recovering A Tradition
- Nov. 3 – 14, 2025
- Come to the Table
- Come to the Waters
- Oct. 27 – Nov. 8, 2025
- Devotional Life in the Wesleyan Tradition
- Nov. 10 – 21, 2025
- Embracing Personal Prayer
- God’s Mission, Our Journey
- Lay Servants as Christian Transformational Leaders
- Leading Bible Study: Biblical Interpretation
- Leading Missional Small Groups
- Loving People and Planet in the Name of God
- Oct. 20 – Nov. 12, 2025
- Ministry with People with Dementia
- Dec. 1 – 14, 2025
- Opening Ourselves to Grace: Basic Christian Practices
- Proclaiming Scripture with a Storytelling Spirit for Lent
- Proclaiming Scripture with a Storytelling Spirit for Advent
- Nov. 17 – Dec. 22, 2025
- Proclaiming Scripture with a Storytelling Spirit for Summer
- Sacred Tension
- Teach Adults
- Teaching Biblical Faith: Leading Small Group Bible Studies
- Oct. 6 – 20, 2025
- Transforming Evangelism
- Dec. 8 – 19, 2025
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 now offer all six courses required for initial Lay Speaker certification (listed in the first section below)!
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.