Lay Planting Program Completes Pilot Training

Path 1 partnered with the California-Nevada Annual Conference to pilot a new curriculum that trains laity to plant new faith communities. Craig Brown, Cal-Nevada’s Executive Director of Congregational Development, implemented the program as part of the conference’s Lay Planting Academy.

The curriculum includes ten sessions and was completed in six months. It aligns with the Certified Lay Ministry (CLM) program of The United Methodist Church as continuing education or as a specialization in lay planting for CLM. Started before the COVID-19 pandemic, the program included three sessions that were presented during a Saturday in-person workshop in January. Seven sessions were delivered through an online teaching platform. Students met via Zoom in early June to present action plans for starting a new ministry, a new expression of church, or a new faith community. A second pilot of the program will take place in the fall of 2020 and will offer the entire course online. For more information about the Lay Planting Program, contact Doug Ruffle at [email protected].

Listen to Craig Brown talk about the piloting of the program in this video clip: