What a wonderful time 25 of our local lay leaders shared at the November 11th Gateway Lay Leader Rally! Our host, Haymount United Methodist Church, provided a beautiful place for us to fellowship and learn from each other. Their Women In Faith served delicious snacks and drinks. The Haymount Praise Team leader single-handedly blessed us with inspirational contemporary music.
Mr. John Hall, our NC Conference Lay Leader, lifted our spirits with a poignant and inspirational message tying his thoughts to our event theme, which was The Five Areas of Focus!
We broke out into small groups and spent time discussing and answering some very thought-provoking questions. We jotted our thoughts and answers onto post-it notes and pasted them together on an easel under each of the 5 Focuses headings.
We learned so much about what our job as Lay Leaders is about in our churches and how to be the servants that God has called each of us to be. If you were unable to attend, you missed the blessing of sharing your thoughts with other lay leaders, but I ask you to please take these questions and consider what God is leading you to do in your own church and beyond.
As each one left the meeting that day, they received a booklet of “Guidelines for Lay Leaders.” This booklet is a wealth of information about the role of the lay leader, ways to improve your leadership, plus a list of resources as well.
Our plans are to have a District Laity Rally in 2024. We will keep you posted on the upcoming date and location.
If you have questions, reach out to
Sara Cameron
Gateway District Lay Leader
N. C. United Methodist Conference
910-736-1152
scameron@nccumc.org