Lay Preacher Studies allow you to go a step further, grounding your worship leadership in deeper understanding of the Bible and Christian teachings, and increasing your understandings and skills in worship leadership and preaching. As a church we value the ministry of lay preachers. We are also committed to equipping them in the best possible way and resourcing them in their service to the church.

The ministry of Lay Preacher is a specified lay ministry within the Uniting Church. In order to become a lay preacher, a person becomes a candidate for this ministry, undertakes prescribed studies and gains supervised practical experience. Talk to your minister if you are interested in pursuing this ministry.

The College offers a statement of completion of the core study topics for the Uniting Church Lay Preachers’ Certificate. All Synods of the Uniting Church have agreed that this statement represents completing the academic requirements of the Lay Preachers’ Course either in whole or in part. (Uniting Church Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are encouraged to negotiate with the UAICC about training specific to their situation.)

Please note that for accreditation as a Lay Preacher in the Uniting Church other requirements will also apply, such as preaching a number of sermons and having these evaluated.

Due to the transition phase with Parkin-Wesley College and Coolamon, at this stage there are slightly different topic requirements.

Theology Topics

Theology - Uniting Church Perspectives
Christology

For South Australia:

Theology for the People of God
God is For Us

Biblical Topics

Introduction to the New Testament
Introduction to the Old Testament

Worship Topics

Living Waters of Worship - An Introduction to Worship in the Uniting Church Tradition
Being & Speaking the Word - An Introduction to Preaching in the Uniting Church Tradition

Lay preacher candidates, particularly those in rural communities, may also consider studying the topic, Uniting Church Sacraments for Lay Presiders as a prerequisite to gaining presbytery permission to preside at the sacraments.

The above topics are accredited through the Adelaide College of Divinity towards a nationally-recognised Certificate in Ministry. This is competency-based learning and assesssment, which means that assignments receive a "Competency Achieved" grade , or "Competency Not Yet Achieved", in which case the student is helped to do further work on the assignment.

Some students preparing for the ministry of Lay Preacher choose to study topics within the BTh or BMin degrees.

For further information, contact Nichola Shaw on 08 8416  8427 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Students hoping to be accredited as Lay Preachers are advised that the selection of Lay Preachers is in the hands of the Presbytery. Written application is made to the Presbytery through the minister of the congregation (see Uniting Church Regulation 2.8.4).

Please contact us for more information about any of this.

In the near future we plan to start an online network for lay preachers and lay preacher students.