The Lay Shepherd Leader
Who is a Lay Shepherd Leader?
A Lay Shepherd Leader is a spiritually mature member of the church who assists the elders in caring for the congregation. He or she maintains personal relationships with a select group of individuals (an assigned flock), helping each individual grow in love for Christ while promoting the church’s shepherding vision through a one-on-one relationship.
What does a Lay Shepherd Leader do?
Why do they do it?
How do they do it?
A Lay Shepherd Leader is a spiritually mature member of the church who assists the elders in caring for the congregation. He or she maintains personal relationships with a select group of individuals (an assigned flock), helping each individual grow in love for Christ while promoting the church’s shepherding vision through a one-on-one relationship.
What does a Lay Shepherd Leader do?
- Know the Sheep – Builds personal relationships, staying aware of people’s spiritual and practical needs.
- Feed the Sheep – Encourages growth in Christ through prayer, conversation, and connecting members to the life and mission of the church.
- Lead the Sheep – Models godly living and helps members follow Christ faithfully.
- Protect the Sheep – Watches for spiritual drift, false teaching, or personal struggles and involves elders when needed.
Why do they do it?
- Because Christ calls His church’s leaders to “shepherd the flock of God” (1 Peter 5:2).
- Because elders cannot personally shepherd everyone in a large congregation and rely on lay shepherds to help ensure that every member is known, fed, led, and protected.
- Because the church is a covenant family where members share in ministry (Ephesians 4).
How do they do it?
- They are assigned a flock of members and meet in person with each member of their flock biannually.
- In addition to in-person visits, they maintain regular contact with their flock by visiting, calling, or texting at least once every ninety days.
- They stay connected with members of their flock who are facing challenges and visit their flock in hospital or crises when necessary.
- They pray weekly for their flock, dependent on the Holy Spirit.
- They attend Covenant’s bi-monthly Shepherding Trainings to meet with their Team Leader for prayer, training, and reporting, and they act with humility under the direction of the elders.
- They actively communicate with the elders about important changes to their flock, and they keep their online roster updated.
Resources for Lay Shepherds
Viewing Your Sheep
Learn how to view everyone in your lay shepherding group, see their contact information, and make updates to the group.
Conversation Tips
Learn how to start a conversation with a brand-new sheep, as well as ways to move the conversation deeper.
One-Way Communication
Learn from the Old Testament prophets to persevere even when it feels like communication is only happening one way.
Member Care Flowchart
Learn how the best path to handle health concerns or other situations that may arise in your sheep's lives.
The 7 Bs of Care
Learn about 7 "Be" actions that will help as you seek to know, lead, feed, and protect your sheep.
Rhythm of Discipleship
Learn how to encourage your sheep to live out the Rhythm of Discipleship and Worship, Grow, Serve, and Go.
Domestic Abuse Policy
Learn the steps to address domestic abuse, as well as the resources available to support both your sheep and you as the shepherd.
The 5As
Learn how to approach the serious issues of the 5As (Abuse, Adultary, Abandonment, Addiction, Abnormal behavior).