All Local Lay-Pastors in the life of the Methodist Church must be registered with Ministries and accredited, or on the journey to accreditation, as part of the Local Lay-Pastor office by September 2025 (See Changing Patterns of Ministry Report, Conference 2021).
Roles with a different title but with the same functions as a Local Lay-Pastor must be registered as part of the office, regardless of how long an individual may have been in the role (See Standing Order 56A). Please note that not every role involving pastoral care will need to be part of the Local Lay-Pastor office and therefore it is important to use the information outlined in Standing Orders and in the Local Lay-Pastor guidance on the Methodist website to discern whether the role is that of a Local Lay-Pastor, particularly noting the leadership and representative aspects of the office.
Gary Hopkins, who oversees the role of Local Lay-Pastor is available for conversations should you wish to discuss a particular case. He can be contacted at hopkinsg@methodistchurch.org.uk.
The following forms are required for submission to Ministries for every role identified as part of the Local Lay-Pastor office. They should be sent to llp@methodistchurch.org.uk.
Form Submissions
Registration Form
Every Local Lay-Pastor role must be registered with Ministries using this form. For new roles, the form must be completed and submitted at the start of the appointment. For existing roles, this needs to happen as soon as possible before September 2025.
Existing LLPs: ASAP by Sep 2025
New LLPs: Start of appointment
Accreditation of Prior Learning and Experience Form
Local Lay-Pastors who have prior learning and experience can have this recognised as part of their pathway to accreditation. For those new to a role, the form can be submitted when they start, but accreditation will not be offered until they have completed the six-month probation period. The LLP-APL form will trigger a collaborative conversation between the Circuit, the LLP and Ministries to ascertain what is required to achieve accreditation.
Existing LLPs: ASAP by Sep 2025
New LLPs: If individual appointed has prior learning to accredit
Probation Assessment Meeting Form
New Local Lay-Pastors are required to have a six-month probation where the Circuit is able to assess they are making good progress towards meeting all the competencies.
Existing LLPs: N/A
New LLPs: After six months
Accreditation Assessment Meeting
The final assessment meeting enables the Circuit to affirm that the Local Lay-Pastor is meeting all the competencies and has completed required training, so that they can be accredited by Ministries.
Existing LLPs: Dependent upon APL conversation
New LLPs: Two years after appointment (flexible if APL is submitted)
Annual Review Form for Local Lay-Pastors
Local Lay-Pastors must complete ongoing learning to maintain their accreditation, which is captured in this form.
Existing LLPs: Annually once accredited
New LLPs: Annually once accredited