Search SEARCH Navigation Menu Home How We Serve Following God's Call Select Language▼ Following God's Call Principled, visionary and effective leaders help United Methodists grow in faith and in sharing God’s love with others.The church is focused on inviting and preparing people to become clergy and lead the church in world-transforming ministry. The early Methodist movement grew through the efforts of laity who led small groups, taught Bible study and provided outreach ministry. Developing strong lay leaders is another important component of creating a church engaged in the work of making disciples. SHARE HOW WE SERVE Explore Your Call to Ministry If you feel that you are being called into ministry, the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry has several resources to help guide you. MORE HOW WE SERVE Ministry of the Laity Learn how you, as a lay member, can proclaim the Good News and reach out to others in love. MORE EXPLORE YOUR CALL VIEW MORE Commentary: Will you join in fighting racism? WHAT WE BELIEVE Spirit empowered, church authorized: United Methodist ordination MORE HOW WE SERVE What does a local pastor do? MORE HOW WE SERVE Deacons and diaconal ministers MORE HOW WE SERVE United Methodist Women MORE MEET LEADERS VIEW MORE Methodist History: Circuit Rider on Skis Who guides the pastors we turn to for guidance? MORE PODCASTS Bishops' personal faith stories MORE HOW WE SERVE Deaconess movement flourishes in the Philippines MORE HOW WE SERVE Deacons: Connecting the church to the world MORE RESOURCES & RELATED Marchetti’s plan to help Houston expanded to the world HOW WE SERVE Three questions to consider about call MORE HOW WE SERVE United Methodist Student Day MORE HOW WE SERVE Facts about seminaries MORE HOW WE SERVE Explore candidacy MORE HOW WE SERVE We Are Disciples Following God's Call Advocating for Justice Promoting Health and Wholeness UMCGiving SHARE Back to top The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. What We Believe Basics of our Faith UMC Topics Ask The UMC-FAQs How We Serve Advocating for Justice We Are Disciples Following Gods Call Promoting Health & Wholeness UMC Giving Ways We Grow Practicing Your Faith Spiritual Growth Tools Resources for Leaders Find-A-Church Who We Are UMC Family Tree Structure History Latest News Calendar Directory Press Center DIRECTORY CALENDAR FIND-A-CHURCH FIND-A-JOB ASK THE UMC RESOURCEUMC.ORG Cookie Policy We maintain a highly secure database of visitor preferences. This information is used to provide you with the best and most personalized experience on the UMC family of websites. You can view our cookie and privacy policy anytime, or learn how to disable cookies within your browser. By closing this message and leaving cookies enabled, you are explicitly agreeing to the use of cookies on all websites administered by United Methodist Communications. ACCEPT Full Policy FOLLOW JOBS ADVERTISING LEGAL PRIVACY We Value Your Privacy SETTINGS NextRoll, Inc. ("NextRoll") and our advertising partners use cookies and similar technologies on this site and use personal data (e.g., your IP address). If you consent, the cookies, device identifiers, or other information can be stored or accessed on your device for the purposes described below. You can click "Allow All" or "Decline All" or click Settings above to customize your consent. NextRoll and our advertising partners process personal data to: ● Store and/or access information on a device; ● Create a personalized content profile; ● Select personalised content; ● Personalized ads, ad measurement and audience insights; ● Product development. For some of the purposes above, our advertising partners: ● Use precise geolocation data. Some of our partners rely on their legitimate business interests to process personal data. View our advertising partners if you wish to provide or deny consent for specific partners, review the purposes each partner believes they have a legitimate interest for, and object to such processing. If you select Decline All, you will still be able to view content on this site and you will still receive advertising, but the advertising will not be tailored for you. You may change your setting whenever you see the on this site. DECLINE ALL ALLOW ALL