Lay Preaching: A personal perspective

For many years she has shared her preaching skills with the Wesley Mt Roskill parish under the guidance and mentorship of Rev Siosifa Pole, Rev Tau Lasi and Rev Uesifili Unasa. She gained her NZLPA certification in 2016. Her fluency and literacy in Samoan, Tongan and English - with a basic knowledge of te reo Māori and other Pasifika languages – assists her to communicate and connect with communities. In this article she shares her perspective on the immense value of lay preachers to the church and its mission.

Introduction

Lay preaching provides an opportunity to assist God’s mission in our churches, parishes, communities, our families and outreach work. Not many are called to be an ordained minister, however each one of us as God’s children has a spiritual calling of faith and discipleship. It is a gift from God to share His love and our personal experience of His grace, peace, hope and joy with others by drawing on our diverse cultural and linguistic skills, abilities, knowledge, worldviews and encounters in living and spreading God’s message of hope, love, truth, way, light and salvation.

My Experience

Kia ora, Tālofa, Mālō ‘e lelei, Warm Greetings!

Adopting a Samoan philosophy on relationships and connections - so’o le fau i le fau – that we are all connected in Christ and our strength lies in our unity with Christ, helps me recognise and support the incredible skills and abilities in our congregation, in enhancing Sunday worship and supporting te reo Māori use promoting better understanding of our bicultural partnership as a church. At the same time, I respect our values and differences, for example Faka Mē, White Sunday, Language Weeks, and other events.

I experienced the value of lay preaching when our parish had to operate without a Minister for two years, under the excellent guidance of Rev Robyn Allen Goudge as Parish Superintendent. The services of our very small team of lay preachers were fully utilised for our Sunday worship onsite as well as online, especially during Covid times. Lay preachers bring to our parish and to our Parish Council leadership team a range of perspectives, preaching styles, knowledge and passion. With our congregations’ prayers and support, God’s grace and hard work we enriched our experiences. I found having extended opportunities to regularly engage with and reflect on God’s Word was most fulfilling. Undoubtedly, the input of lay preachers to the mission of our parish and worship has been, and continues to be, very beneficial.

Challenges, Opportunities & Future

Many MCNZ and uniting parishes are facing various challenges today including social and cultural changes and a decline in attendance numbers. Methodists made up 4.5 percent of the total population in 1981 and 2.6 percent in 2013.” (Te Ara Encyclopaedia https://teara.govt.nz/en/methodist-church/print . The 2013 census reported 33 percent of New Zealand Methodists were of Pacific Islands ethnicity. This presented an opportunity for the growth of Pasifika lay preachers in the church.

Challenges & Opportunities include:

· A lack of presbyters available to parishes is an issue in NZ and throughout many parts of the world making the support of lay preaching in parishes relevant.

· The lack of resources, shrinking parishes, elderly membership, increasing property maintenance costs and compliance issues, no injection of [younger] membership & churches struggling financially to sustain a full time, or a 0.5 presbyter mean that lay preacher support can be helpful.

· As many young people stop coming to church when they reach adulthood, the opportunities for lay preachers to engage youth in discussions talanoa on issues that matter to them, in Sunday services and other activities together, and making God’s message relevant to our youth today are considerable.

· In the current climate, Religious Studies could very well disappear in some institutions https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/491681/victoria-university-proposes-cuts-to-religious-studies-programme. This can present possibilities for lay preaching.

The Value of Lay Preachers

Huge opportunities and possibilities lie in recognising the value of drawing on our own cultural and linguistic knowledge and experience. Acknowledgement of the diversity of our church communities fosters inclusiveness, relevance, spiritual belonging and wellbeing. Having access to information resources in preparing services - including in our languages - is also hugely helpful to our mission and development as lay preachers.

I urge our parishes and lay preachers to:

· Keep records up to date either through the annual Methodist returns or by belonging to the interdenominational New Zealand Lay Preachers’ Association (NZLPA), which also maintains a database. This can contribute greatly to churches future planning, opportunities and collaborations within and across parishes. The NZLPA encourages Methodist lay preachers to forward their details of services held, date of accreditation and current parish to the network. Visit the NZLPA website https://nzlpa.wordpress.com/who-are-we/

· Be at the Table - Being part of the NZLPA and being actively involved in its events is crucial to the network in the provision of support, resources, services and activities for lay preaching and enabling your gifts and skills to contribute to expanding its mission. My engagement in NZLPA executive meetings under the leadership of Joshua Robertson, Linda Hall and the Executive has been very positive.

· Embrace the empowering support, encouragement and mentorship from ministers, church and community leaders. Regular lay preacher catch ups and collaborations are also important. In addition, I recommend formal training, access to financial support and ongoing professional learning and developmentand attending NZLPA eventsthat cater fordiverse needs and opportunities.

Encouraging and inspiring a range of people into the lay preaching profession can also assist in making our services relevant to all ages and diverse groups, enhance robust discussion and engagement to explore and resolve matters together in our collective journey in ministry and solidarity in Christ. . Fa’afetai, Malo aupito, Ngā mihi.