lay leaders
Unpaid church guides
Lay leaders are members of a religious congregation who take on leadership roles without being ordained clergy.
They may lead worship services, teach classes, organize programs, or serve on governing boards: The church relies heavily on lay leaders to run its youth ministry.
The term appears across Christian denominations and in other faith traditions, distinguishing volunteer congregational leadership from professional ministry.
- block captainsNeighborhood liaison volunteers
- committee chairsGroup discussion leaders
- catechistsTeachers of Christian doctrine
- eldersSenior community members
- advocatesThose who support causes
Sunday school teachers · tutors · board members · human rights defenders · library volunteers · lectors · stewards · parish council
- Colonial Catholicismfriars, Franciscans, Jesuits, Dominicans, Augustinians
- Catholic Actionlaity, Knights of Columbus, Pax Romana, parish councils, social action
- Japanese ChristianityNagasaki, Jesuits, Franciscans, Catholic martyrs, secret rituals
- parish governancevestry, parish council, parish councils, church board, deacons
- Catholic figurescardinals, archbishops, abbots, bishops, friars
- church rolesbishop, deacons, priest, pastor, altar girl
lay leadersclergy
Ordained religious officials collectively
ministers · priests · pastors · ordained ministers · rabbis
lay leaderschurch hierarchy
Ranked religious leadership structure
bishops · archbishops · cardinals · prelates
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