“Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all other things will be given to you as well.”

You’ve probably heard the term class leader and associated it with Covenant Discipleship groups. But you were never really sure of the connection, and you weren’t clear on what class leaders are. If you were asked to identify all the class leaders in your congregation, could you? Isn’t this a concept from John Wesley’s era? Do we still need class leaders? Who are they anyway? These questions and others are floating around our United Methodist churches. And answers are available in Grace Bradford’s Guide for Class Leaders (Discipleship Resources).

Bradford begins with a basic understanding and interpretation of class leaders: a ministry of the laity. On page 8 of her Guide we read, “Jesus’ disciples were laypeople, just like you, whom Jesus trained to be the leaders he would leave behind on earth to carry out his ministry. Throughout the ages God has called disciples to train other disciples so that the Word, like a seed, would take root and bloom in the lives of those who called themselves his children.”

Class leaders have already demonstrated love for God and a willingness to respond to God’s call to be disciples wherever they may be. Class leaders encourage, nurture, and support other disciples who struggle with or doubt hearing God’s call. Class leaders listen to others’ stories of struggle but do not provide quick and easy answers; rather, they are willing to listen, pray, and discern the call with disciples who are not sure they are ready or “good enough” to become class leaders. Bradford tells us that class leaders are not beyond struggle and doubt themselves, but they depend on their relationship with God to bring them through such times.

She makes it very clear that class leaders is a lay ministry, but that class leaders should not or do not function alone in congregations. A partnership between the class leader and the pastor must be alive and well. In true partnerships, the lay and pastoral leadership interconnect to form a strong viable congregation.

How do class leaders surface? First of all, laity and pastoral leadership must be involved with Covenant Discipleship groups. In her Guide, Bradford traces the history of class leaders, beginning with the acts of Jesus as he trained people around him to carry on his ministries. She tells how John Wesley, our founding father, called for small groups as a way to develop a disciplined Christian lifestyle and to watch over one another as each tried to follow Jesus.

Bradford effectively describes the evolving role of small groups and how they provide class leaders for strengthening congregations and membership. By the time you finish this Guide, you will have a clear understanding of where and how class leaders came to be. And, above all, you will realize that any persons committed to patterning their lives after Jesus, maintaining their journey in relationship with God, and taking God with them in all aspects of their lives, can be a class leader.

Reviewed by Alyne JoAnn Eslinger.

Grace Bradford is a class leader at Asbury United Methodist Church, Washington, DC. She is the Covenant Discipleship Quarterly Editor and a workshop leader in accountable discipleship ministries and music ministries.