There are thousands of lay ministers using their gifts in a wide variety of different roles, serving alongside ordained ministers. Youth and children’s ministers, churchwardens, licensed lay ministers, and many chaplains, evangelists, missionaries and pioneers are lay people, who are not ordained.
Lay ministries cover a huge variety of different forms of Christian service and there are a range of lay ministry roles available in different dioceses. Lay ministry falls broadly into three categories: Recognised, Authorised and Licensed.