At my current church (Presbyterian), I don’t think I’ve ever heard a non minister or staff member (or the occasional guest preacher) preach. But it’s a really big church and the bench is pretty deep.
But if you expand the definition of “ministry” beyond speaking on Sunday mornings, then yes we are encouraged to do so. The church’s vision is “Every Member a Minister” and there are a ton of opportunities to share, help, give, and encourage people both inside and outside the church community. Off the top of my head, I know there’s a habitat for humanity team, some homeless ministries, some support groups, some caring ministries, some language ministries, etc. If a person wanted to do _________, there’s probably a group already, and if not the church would support them in starting one. There are announcements in the bulletin about what’s going on. During the service, more often than not, there is a short interview of someone who is serving in some way, how it has enriched their lives and enhanced their faith, and how you can serve in a similar fashion.
My mother belongs to a Brethren church (Open, or Plymouth, Brethren). They have no clergy, but rather “elders” who are all men who take turns preaching and performing the duties of a minister. My mother has said that if women were expected to become elders, she would have left the church a long time ago. So certain laypeople are expected to be involved in the church in a very serious manner, but others are not at all. (In principle I find the idea of there being no female elders extremely backward, but I have to admit that I would certainly not volunteer to ever give sermons.) This particular chapel (and there is no governing body over a group of churches) had a full-time ministry worker for a while, but he was not ordained or anything.
That strikes me as odd. Many Baptists are what are known as “free church” and “congregation led”. Meaning there is no external governing body* over them and that the congregation votes on most of the major issues that the church is dealing with, and that every member of the church does have a say and is often invited to join committee’s and such.
I am currently a student at a Southern Baptist Seminary (Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary) and many of the baptist churches I have been in offer many ways for people to get involved. For instance Thomas Road Baptist Church (Jerry Fallwell’s church) has a men’s group where the lay people in the group delivered donuts and movie tickets to fire houses around the Lynchburg, Va area.
Even things like the Southern Baptist Convention are not a governing body but more a fellowship of likeminded churches that come together for the purpose of cross cultural missions work.
Anyway as a future pastor I would like to know how to get people more involved, so please continue to share your experiences and say what you thought worked best.
In the case of our church (which is in a semi-rural area of Hampshire), it was needs must. The village church is fairly small - seating about 100 at a squeeze. So as the church grew, it got to a point where a second congregation (in the local school hall) was needed, but additional clergy were not going to be added. People in both congregations needed to step up and get involved in the ministry to make it work.
Since then, we have added another congregation (in a parishioner-owned pub on a Sunday morning) which gives more opportunity for lay ministry. There are the youth services, and every member of the church is encouraged to belong to a home church, where everyone has an opportunity to be involved at some level. We also run a charity that many people get involved with because it is a good thing, but does not feel like church.
Sometimes, it takes a bit of a crisis. In one church I used to attend, our vicar resigned, and we had a year long interregnum. We had visiting clergy, but it was really down to the parishioners. At other times and places, illness or a lack of funds have led the ministry away from clergy into lay ministry.
I attend the local Assemblies of God, which is always open for lay ministry- with children & teens, shut-ins, food distribution, Sunday School, etc. I’ve been a childrens & teens worker, Sunday School teacher, Singles leader & Drama participant off & on for years.
The only things lay persons can not do in the Catholic church is several of the sacraments. We can’t perform the Eucharist, we can’t ordain, but we can baptize if no priest is available and since the marriage is performed by the spouses, it’s the one sacrament which can’t be performed by a priest (the priest is only a witness who can read and write).
If there’s anybody’s mileage that varies, it’s the Baptists. They are tremendously varied, from what you describe to more professionalized with staff. My friend was from a more staff-led church. The lack of a governing body sometimes results in a very pastor-led church. The Methodists’ governing body requires churches to appoint laity to committees. Again, not that that’s a huge deal.
I’ve led worship, preached (praught?), done door-to-door visitation, served on various committees (worship, mutual ministry, stewardship, others), and done various other tasks. We have a visitation group called Befrienders that does hospital and home visits that is all laity. I’ve taught Sunday school and confirmation classes.
The laity does lots of stuff at our church. Our pastor is good, but he can’t do everything.
I grew up in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and Zsofia did a great job of summarizing the very active role of the laity. I’d also add that in addition to the various Session committees, she mentioned (Worship, Stewardship, Evangelism), in most churches there’s also an Education committee that selects Sunday school curriculum, plans Vacation Bible School, organizes adult education, runs the youth group for teenagers, etc. In addition to Sunday school classes, members also teach confirmation classes for kids (typically 12-13 years old) who want to become members of the church. Session members were also expected to visit folks in the hospital and shut-ins regularly.
At the Presbyterian church I attended most often, there was a Men’s Circle, a Women’s Circle, a youth group, a young adult group, a group that did regular service at the homeless shelter, and a few other social groups (line-dancing, book clubs, etc) that were all run by members.
Not of course–I’ve attended more than one church where the pastor sang with the choir as often as he or she could manage. Which might well be less than every Sunday because the pastor had too many committments to attend rehearsal every week.
And on the other side–many (not all) choir directors are in fact paid, which does not make them Clergy, although it may make them Staff.
I’m not picking nits, just noting that the lines between the professional and amateur “ministers” (where “minister” means “person who does ministry” and not “pastor/priest figure” and the lines between what each does are even blurrier than I thought they were on Sunday. Big churches have big staffs, many people involved in many ways. Little churches have little staffs, and the people have no shame in inviting newcomers to join the choir.
Of course, there are other factors as well . . .
But, (and this comment is definitely directed to all who have responded), it is nice to be reminded of the universality of some things–like ordinary folk singing, or reading the Epistle lesson, or various other things which habe been mentioned by multiple people. I still don’t know if the guy who annoyed me was right in what he said, but I’ve been reassured that many churches do value their laity. And “Every Member A Minister” is NOT a uniquely Methodist tagline.
Catholic. Echoing St.Germain, Auto, and Nava. Music (God help us, I miss Anglican music), Sunday school type stuff, interfaith lunches, food drives, RCIA, Eucharistic ministry, lectoring, youth group- all done by the laity.
Mr. Lissar and I sort of kind of talking about volunteering to do a Bible study group sometime, since there doesn’t seem to be one right now. And I’m sort of thinking about starting a Catholic young mothers group. The problem- we’re both introverts, and I’m shy.
My former church had a sign over the door (on your way out) that said something like, “This is your area of ministry.” The world. I kind of liked that.
