God Opens Doors through Lay Assistants
By Emil G. Jaech
It had long been assumed that the real ministry of the church was done by professionally trained pastors and teachers. Lay people were given supportive roles such as handling business affairs, serving on boards and committees, caring for church buildings and furnishings, conducting fund-raising efforts, doing charitable work in the community, and providing whatever manual labor was needed. There were exceptions, of course. Men and women were recruited to teach Sunday school or Vacation Bible School and to make evangelism and stewardship calls. Occasionally, gifted men were permitted to teach adult Bible classes under pastoral supervision. But that was about it.
Thankfully, these restrictive attitudes and practices have been changing. Every congregation has capable men and women who can use their God-given talents in a wide range of ministries that complement those of their pastors. Isn't this what our Lord had in mind when we read in Ephesians 4:11-12 that the Lord "gave some to be.pastors and teachers to equip the saints for their work of ministry"? Recognizing this, the Northwest District became among the first in the Synod to implement a program that recruits and trains lay assistants.
Impetus for the greater use of lay people in ministry came from a number of sources. A group of former foreign missionaries led by Dr. Robert Schmidt, then-campus pastor at the University of Washington, crafted a District resolution establishing a Leadership Advancement Process in the District. At the same time Dr. E. P. Weber, then-President of Concordia College, encouraged his staff to get involved in the project. Soon thereafter, responding to mission challenges in Alaska, Dr. Chris Reinke pioneered in the use of lay people to conduct services in some of the sparsely populated areas of the Alaska outback.
The first director of the Leadership Advancement Process was Dr. E. P. Weber, who had recently retired from Concordia. Under his direction materials were developed and the process for lay training and certification was established.
The use of lay assistants has made possible rural outreach in various circuit-rider ministries. The first was the Alaskan Road Ministry led by Rev. Ken and Sandi Schauer. Other circuit-rider ministries have been established along the Yukon River served by Rev. Bill Norton, along the Kuskokwim in southeast Alaska pioneered by Lay Assistant Corbie Cross, and in eastern Idaho led by Rev. Gerald Reinke. Plans for even more circuit-rider ministries are now underway.
Lay assistants also work with their pastors in larger congregations doing rest-home ministries, youth work, evangelism, and teaching a variety of classes. Still other lay assistants work in special ministries among Native American congregations, with prisoners, and with seafarers. One of the lay assistants is working on the arctic reaches of Northern Siberia. Interest in the program has spread far and wide with inquires coming from other districts, from Northern Canada, Germany, and China.
Because of the growth of the program, Dr. Erhart Bauer, a former Northwest District President, who then shepherded the beginning of our Synod's mission in Jamaica, was appointed in 1999 by President Warren Schumacher to serve as Consultant for Lay Ministry. In that capacity he counsels with congregations and lay assistants and serves as a liaison with the Synod.
Most lay assistants serve without salary and volunteer countless hours of their time in ministry. The church in the Northwest District has truly been blessed with their service. The active involvement of lay people in the essential ministry of the church will be a vital building block in the church as God opens doors in the second century of our District's existence.
As taken from God Opens Doors, editors, Hans Spalteholz, Matthew L. Becker, and Dwaine Brandt. Used with permission.