Who can become a Lay Worship Assistant (LWA)?
This may be a ministry for you to explore if you are:
- prayerful
- God-focused
- willing to do the preparation necessary for leading worship, including studying the Bible
- willing to stand up in front of people and yet not make yourself the centre of attention
- audible
- authentic
- prepared to learn to use any relevant technology
Download the leaflet below for more information.
All sorts of people from all backgrounds and walks of life are called by God to be LWAs. It is a voluntary role and is usually part-time. LWAs are expected to commit regular time to the role, but it is flexible and fluid to suit an individual’s circumstances. This is a ministry on behalf of the Church and so you will operate under the guidance of the incumbent. This may involve becoming familiar with styles of worship that are not natural to you but are of benefit to your worshipping community.
How can I become an LWA?
Working out your calling is about listening attentively to God and reflecting with others. If you feel called to this ministry, talk to your local church leaders. We want LWAs to feel properly equipped for this important role, so the first step, if you have not had any other training, is to take the Exploring Worship training. This course is run at a Deanery level, so your incumbent will need to work with the Deanery to enable a local course to run, and should email the Training team: training@bathwells.anglican.org for guidance and materials.
Not everyone who does the course will decide to go on to become an LWA. You and your incumbent will need to agree, at the end of the course, that the ministry is correct for you and you will need to do an assessed service. Safeguarding training will need to follow and you will require a DBS safeguarding check. Finally, you and your minister will create a ministry specification and complete the application form, which you then send to the Ministry Training Team Administrator (see email below). You will then receive a commendation from the Bishop for the role, which lasts three years or until you change church or a new incumbent is appointed. At that stage you will need to agree together whether the ministry will continue in the new circumstances.
More details are in the leaflet and detailed booklet below. For useful documents visit the LWA resources page.
Who to contact
If your incumbent wishes to run the Exploring Worship course in your deanery, they should contact The Ministry Training Administrator for the training resources. Email training@bathwells.anglican.org. If you wish to find out if a nearby area is running an Exploring Worship course that you might join, please, again, contact the Ministry Training Team Administrator.