How to Plan LSM Trainings

How to Plan LSM Trainings

If you are interested in teaching a course to fulfill Lay Servant Ministries requirements, you’ve come to the right place! Our District Directors of Lay Servant Ministries are happy to help you through planning and promoting your course. Visit CBOL Leadership to find the LSM director or directors for your district. If you cannot find a director for your district, any district director can assist.

Who can teach a LSM course? Anybody can teach LSM courses, as long as the district director of LSM approves the instructor. For laity, district directors may reach out to their pastor/church.

Instructors can use the following steps to prepare for the course:

  1. Select the LSM course you would like to teach. Reference the Lay Servant Ministries Resource Catalog and the Upper Room Catalog (at 1-800-972-0433 or UpperRoom.org/store) to find courses able to fulfill LSM requirements.
  2. Choose the book you want to use for your course, if there are multiple options available in the catalog. Record the book’s information, including its name, author, ISBN, cost, and its Cokesbury or Upper Room link.
  3. Choose the course location or host site. Consider if your course will be offered in-person, online, or both.
  4. Schedule the ten (10) hours when the course will be held. In order for an LSM course to meet requirements, the participants must attend for at least 10 contact hours. Record the dates for the course and the number of course hours for each date.
  5. Determine the cost of the course for each participant. The cost should take the following factors into account:
    • Book price
    • Meal price, if the course will be providing meals
    • Any other course materials

Once this information has been gathered, you must send the following information to your district’s director or directors of LSM at least one (1) month prior to the course:

  1. Course name
  2. Instructor name(s) and contact info: phone number, email address, church address
  3. Course location and the location’s address. Indicate if the class will be taught in-person, online, or both.
  4. Course dates and times
  5. Course book. Include the name, author, ISBN, cost, and its Cokesbury or Upper Room link.
  6. Course cost per participant. Indicate where participants should send payment. Participants may on the day of the course.
  7. Deadline to register for the course
  8. Any other course logistics that should be included when promoting this course. These include:
    1. If meals are provided
    2. If participants will need to purchase course books or other materials themselves

Finally, the district director is responsible for the following steps:

  1. After receiving the course information from the instructor, the director will double-check that the course meets LSM requirements.
  2. The district director will post the course on the Wisconsin Conference website. The course will be visible on the Conference calendar as well as Lay Servant Ministries Upcoming Trainings.
  3. The district director will handle registrations for your course, providing the list of participants prior to the class.

Students pay the instructors directly for the cost of the class, prior to or on the first day of the class.

Once the course has been completed, the instructor will send the list of students who successfully completed the course to the district director. The district director will work with the instructor to print certificates, so students have proof that the course was completed. The certificates will be sent to the students’ churches, so their pastors can present them in front of their congregation.

If an instructor is interested in teaching classes not on the LSM catalog, there is a process through UMC Discipleship Ministries to approve the course. However, this process takes a significant amount of time and is not guaranteed to be approved.