Getting started as a Minister or Lay Pastor

Deepening discipleship in the individuals in your community is a key part of your role as a travelling companion.

A Methodist Way of Life can spark curiosity, open up conversations and help you and your community explore what it means to live out faith, leading to growth and action.

“At a General Church Meeting, we looked at all the church’s activities and put them against the stations they connected with. Then we looked at where there was nothing, and thought about what infrastructure we would need to build.”

Ideas to try

Every context and church community is different. The most appropriate ideas will be the ones that are authentic for the people and place you’re in. Here are a few ideas to consider – more can be found on the pages for each commitment, and on the MWOL resources page.

 In services, meetings and gatherings:

• Use the animations to introduce A Methodist Way of Life to your congregations and give everyone a Pocket Guide and encourage them to keep it for ready reference. Point out the reflection questions inside. Have plenty available to give to guests and visitors.
• Invite people to pick a badge that represents their home station. Use this to assess the gifts, passions and concerns of the congregation.
• Have a monthly focus on one of the commitments across the life of the church. You could also place an item representing the church onto a floor mat and move it each month. As part of this, hold a series of sessions with small groups for accountability.
• Use a Methodist Way of Life as a structure for Church Council Meetings. It can help focus discussions on what really matters.

• Our series of service outlines are filled with notes for a talk or sermon; creative activities and discussion questions for all ages; and all in editable Word documents so you can pick and choose the bits that work for you and make it your own.

   

 In church meetings:

• The General Church Meeting should be used “for mutual counsel, respecting the condition of the Local Church.” (CPD S.O. 621) This makes it a good time to conduct a congregation survey.
• Engage with A Methodist Way of Life as part of your mission planning. Celebrate what the church is doing well at each station and identify areas that could be developed to encourage new joiners. Perhaps pick one commitment to focus on for a year.
• Use the discipleship commitments as a focus for prayer. You could write prayers on the backs of postcards and post them anonymously on a prayer wall, or invite people to hold a badge that represents their prayer during silent prayers. Combine this with use of the Methodist Church prayer cards.

The Evangelism and Growth team of the Methodist Church run events and webinars throughout the year for individuals and church leaders to explore what A Methodist Way of Life means for your community, including ‘Rural and Rooted’, a series for rural churches.