Tongan Lay Servant Ministry

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LAY SERVANT MINISTRIES in TONGAN: LSM104 INTRODUCTION TO PREACHING
Mondays, March 10, 17, 24, 31, April 7, 2025, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM California (PDT) 
Mondays, March 10, 17, 24, 31, April 7, 2025, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM Hawaii (HST)
Tuesdays, March 11, 18, 25, April 1, 8, 2025, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM Guam (ChST)
Zoom Online Platform (Zoom link included in confirmation)

Cost & Deadlines: $20.00 and you must provide your own book (see below). 

REGISTER NOW AT THIS LINK

About the Class:

• THIS CLASS WILL BE CONDUCTED ENTIRELY IN TONGAN. If you are looking for an English language class, please choose one that does not include “Tongan” in the title.
• About the Course:  This course offers practical tips for persons who are called on to preach occasionally but are not formally trained as pastors. Participants in Tongan Lay Servant Ministry classes come from across the Western Jurisdiction. 
  Learners will: 
  • Examine the role of the sermon in the Service of Worship and see it as a proclamation of the Good News; 
  • Work through the stages in sermon preparation from; message topic to final manuscript; 
  • Learn how to assess the congregation’s profile as it impacts sermon creation and delivery; 
  • Examine technical issues of grammar, language, word selection, and humor and their impact on delivering the sermon.  
• Provide your own book: All participants need the book “From Pew to Pulpit: A Beginner’s Guide to Preaching” by Clifton F. Guthrie. Purchase the book at Amazon, Cokesbury, or Upper Room.
• The instructors for this class include Rev. Dr. Niponi Finau, Rev. Martin Finau, Rev. Alena Uhamaka, Rev. Kitione Tu’itupou, Rev. Dr. Linita Moa, Rev. Dr. Kalesita Tu’ifua, and others from the Western Jurisdiction.
• Need-based scholarships are available. Participants must ask the pastor of their home church before requesting a scholarship from the Conference.  If a scholarship is needed and not available from the local church, please complete the brief scholarship application below in the registration form.
• Attendance is required at all sessions for credit. To complete the 10 hour course requirement, outside assignments will also need to be completed.
• About Certified Lay Servant (CLS) and Certified Lay Speaker status: All those seeking certification as a Certified Lay Servant are invited to attend. The BASIC class and one Advanced Class is required to successfully apply for Certified Lay Servant status. If you have taken the Basic Lay Servant Class within the last three years, taking this advanced class will qualify you as a Certified Lay Servant.  If you want to continue on to being a Certified Lay SPEAKER, you will need to take the following advanced classes: Preaching, Leading Worship or Planning Worship, Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts, Leading Prayer, United Methodist Heritage or History, and United Methodist Polity. For more information about Lay Servant Ministries, click here.
• Technical requirements for Zoom participants: To participate in Zoom  meetings, participants must have a reliable Internet connection, and a  laptop, tablet, or smartphone device that can download and install the  Zoom app. A web or phone camera and a microphone are highly recommended,  although some users may call in via phone if a mic is not available. 
• Zoom information is included in your submission message and confirmation email.

For more information about this course, contact Rev. Dr. Kalesita Tu’ifua at kutuifua@gmail.com, Taufa Tenisi at ttenisi82@gmail.com, or Cathy Wilson, Associate Director of Lay and Clergy Credentialing and Development at cwilson@calpacumc.org, (626) 824-2284.

REGISTER NOW AT THIS LINK

REGISTER AT THIS LINK

2025 Tongan LSM 110: Devotional Life in Wesleyan Tradition (March) (1 CEU)

Structured around Wesley’s “means of grace,” this course covers topics such as prayer, Scripture, the Lord’s Supper, and fasting, which are major features of John Wesley’s devotional life. Learn how to apply Wesley’s ministry to your own life.

• THIS CLASS WILL BE CONDUCTED ENTIRELY IN TONGAN. If you are looking for an English language class, please choose one that does not include “Tongan” in the title.

Required for re-certifcations. 

REGISTER AT THIS LINK

Required Book: The Upper Room Store & Resource Library – Devotional Life in the Wesleyan Tradition   (click on link to purchase)

Cost: $20

Instructors: Lay Servant Ministry in Tongan

Class Schedule – TUESDAYS

Session 1: 03/11/2025 – 6PM to 8PM

Session 2: 03/18/2025 – 6PM to 8PM

Session 3:  03/25/2025 – 6PM to 8PM

Session 4: 04/01/2025 – 6PM to 8PM

Session 5: 04/08/2025 – 6PM to 8PM

REGISTER AT THIS LINK

The class will be on Zoom. Zoom link will be in your registration confirmation. 

REGISTER AT THIS LINK

The best book in the world is not the easiest book to read. This course is meant to give you tools to enhance your joy and discovery in reading it.

Required for lay speaker certification.

Prerequisite Course: Basic LSM. If you have not take the Basic Course, exit out of this form and do not continue with your registration. Please take the next offering of the Basic Course (LSM 101).

• THIS CLASS WILL BE CONDUCTED ENTIRELY IN TONGAN. If you are looking for an English language class, please choose one that does not include “Tongan” in the title.

REGISTER AT THIS LINK

Required Book: Introduction to the Class & Deeper into the Bible PDF

Cost: $20            Instructors: Lay Servant Ministry in Tongan

Class Schedule: Tuesdays only

Session 1: 7/01/2025  6PM – 8PM

Session 2: 7/08/2025  6PM – 8PM

Session 3: 7/15/2025 6PM – 8PM

Session 4: 7/22/2025 6PM – 8PM

Session 5: 7/30/2025 6PM – 8PM

(Note: Time varies for cross-conferences. Double check your locations)

REGISTER AT THIS LINK

REGISTER NOW AT THIS LINK

LAY SERVANT MINISTRIES in TONGAN: LSM107 UM HERITAGE & LSM108 UM POLITY
Mondays, May 5, 12, 19, 26, June 2, 2025, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM California (PDT) 
Mondays, May 5, 12, 19, 26, June 2, 2025, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM Hawaii (HST)
Tuesdays, May 6, 13, 20, 27, June 3, 2025, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM Guam (ChST)
Zoom Online Platform (Zoom link included in confirmation)

Cost & Deadlines: $20.00 and you must provide your own book (see below). Register by Sunday, May 4, 2025.

REGISTER NOW AT THIS LINK

About the Class:

• THIS CLASS WILL BE CONDUCTED ENTIRELY IN TONGAN. If you are looking for an English language class, please choose one that does not include “Tongan” in the title.
• About the two courses in one:
  • LSM107 UM Heritage: This course explores the basic beliefs and practices of the United Methodist Church as defined in Part II of The Book of Discipline. It uncovers a deeper understanding and experience of Christian faith as you embrace the United Methodist way.
  • LSM108 UM Polity: Theology shapes who we are and how we organize to transform the world.  This course explores the connection between Wesleyan theology and  Methodist organizational structure and practice.
• Provide your own book: All participants need the book Living Our Beliefs: The United Methodist Way by Kenneth L. Carder. The book can be purchased from Amazon, Cokesbury, or Upper Room.
• Need-based scholarships are available. Participants must ask the pastor of their home church before requesting a scholarship from the Conference.  If a scholarship is needed and not available from the local church, please complete the brief scholarship application below in the registration form.
• Attendance is required at all sessions for credit. To complete the 10 hour course requirement, outside assignments will also need to be completed.
• About Certified Lay Servant (CLS) and Certified Lay Speaker status: All those seeking certification as a Certified Lay Servant are invited to attend. The BASIC class and one Advanced Class is required to successfully apply for Certified Lay Servant status. If you have taken the Basic Lay Servant Class within the last three years, taking this advanced class will qualify you as a Certified Lay Servant.  If you want to continue on to being a Certified Lay SPEAKER, you will need to take the following advanced classes: Preaching, Leading Worship or Planning Worship, Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts, Leading Prayer, United Methodist Heritage or History, and United Methodist Polity. For more information about Lay Servant Ministries, click here.
• Technical requirements for Zoom participants: To participate in Zoom  meetings, participants must have a reliable Internet connection, and a  laptop, tablet, or smartphone device that can download and install the  Zoom app. A web or phone camera and a microphone are highly recommended,  although some users may call in via phone if a mic is not available. 
• Zoom information is included in your submission message and confirmation email.

For more information about this course, contact Rev. Dr. Kalesita Tu’ifua at kutuifua@gmail.com, Taufa Tenisi at ttenisi82@gmail.com, or Cathy Wilson, Associate Director of Lay and Clergy Credentialing and Development at cwilson@calpacumc.org, (626) 824-2284.

REGISTER NOW AT THIS LINK

REGISTER AT THIS LINK

• THIS CLASS WILL BE CONDUCTED ENTIRELY IN TONGAN. If you are looking for an English language class, please choose one that does not include “Tongan” in the title.

Spiritual Gift Course: This is a required class for certification of Lay Servant Ministry and along with Basic. Opportunities for Basic class is still available in English by our peers in the conference. Please check out the website for those schedules.

Instructors: Lay Servant Ministry in Tongan

Book From Upper Room:        Each One a Minister, a revised and enlarged edition of Carter’s previous book by the same title, begins with a 6-session study of Ephesians. Carter engages the reader in discovering the meaning of church, ministry, and gifts — from the early church up to the present.

As a follow-up to the Bible study, readers and study groups look at ways in which God’s gifts are practical as well as spiritual. Four ministry categories, closely connected to the congregational primary task (receive, relate, equip, send), are identified. Scripture readings, activities, and ways to implement specific ministries are suggested.

Designed to encourage individuals to discover God’s call to ministry in their own lives, Each One a Minister leads toward practical ways of using gifts in ministries in our congregations and in our communities. An ideal resource for clergy, lay leaders, study groups, and others seeking to identify and use their gifts in meaningful ways.

Purchases of book:  The Upper Room Store & Resource Library – For the Common Good

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Course Schedule (Tuesdays only): 

Session 1: 05/06/2025 – 6 to 8 pm 

Session 2: 05/13/2025 – 6 to 8 pm 

Session 3: 05/20/2025 – 6 to 8 pm 

Session 4: 05/27/2025 – 6 to 8 pm 

Session 5: 06/03/2025 – 6 to 8 pm 

REGISTER AT THIS LINK

REGISTER AT THIS LINK

• THIS CLASS WILL BE CONDUCTED ENTIRELY IN TONGAN. If you are looking for an English language class, please choose one that does not include “Tongan” in the title.

The Lay Servant Ministries Basic Course is a foundational course designed to equip new church leaders and renew current leaders in The United Methodist Church. It explores

• personal spiritual gifts
• servant leadership
• each leader’s role in developing future leaders
• the importance of consistent spiritual practices
• the core ministries of Leading, Caring, and Communicating
• and much more.

The Basic Course can be used for both adults and youth. Consisting of five two-hour sessions, it may serve as a short-term study for small groups, Sunday school classes, and new member classes.”

REGISTER AT THIS LINK

Credit Due: The Upper Room Bookstore

Book: Lay Servant Ministries: Basic Course Participant’s Book by Sandy Jackson and Brian Jackson. Click Here to order your book.

Cost: $20

Instructor: Lay Servant Ministry in Tongan

Class Schedule – 2025

Course Schedule (Tuesdays only):

Session 1: 09/02/2025 – 6PM to 8PM

Session 2: 09/09/2025 – 6PM to 8PM

Session 3: 09/16/2025 – 6PM to 8PM

Session 4: 09/23/2025 – 6PM to 8PM

Session 5: 09/30/2025 – 6PM to 8PM

The class will be on Zoom. You will receive the Zoom link on your registration confirmation.

REGISTER AT THIS LINK