The Five Ministry Lanes

Henry Reyenga

So today we're going to talk about the five ministry lanes: the one-wedding officiant, the officiant practice, church staff expectations for being a wedding officiant, the chaplain lane, and the life coach minister lane.

We call these lanes because they are places where you serve and minister.

You might serve in the area of doing one wedding. I want to ask you this: perhaps it's your family, your friends, or a loved one whose wedding you are performing. If you're here in that lane, this is what I want to say to you.

It may open the door for more than just one wedding.

Who knows? You may be called to perform weddings.

Why do I say that?

Well, because if you're asked to perform a wedding, that means they see you as a minister in some way.

You know, "I want to ask Uncle George to do our wedding because Uncle George has meant something to me, and I want to invite Uncle George into our life now."

Why would they say that?

They would say that because Uncle George represents a Christian who understands marriage in a world of confusion. Someone they know, trust, and respect.

If your lane is to do one wedding, take this course, get more confident, but also discern whether maybe you are called to perform more wedding ceremonies and become more involved in marriage ministry.

Wedding officiant ministry is marriage ministry.

It's a worldview.

When a Christian wedding officiant performs a wedding, meets with a couple, and shares the Christian covenant message of marriage, that itself is a powerful ministry.

Maybe you're doing it one time, but maybe there will be more.

I say this even to our one-time wedding officiants. When you get your credentials in the mail, if you order them, make sure you put them up on the wall somewhere. Display that certificate of ordination. Show people your wedding officiant ID card.

Why?

Because we need more wedding officiants and wedding ministers in this world. Our world is confused and looking for leadership.

So that's one lane—the one-time wedding lane—which I believe could become more. You may be called to perform more weddings and impact more people's lives.

Another lane is the officiant practice.

I am telling you, it has been so much fun to see this opportunity spread throughout the United States and other parts of the world.

This is the concept where a person is called to be a Christian wedding officiant in a community. They might have a website. They might be part of a local Soul Center.

By the way, if you have a wedding practice, I highly recommend checking out our Soul Center program, where you can register a local geographic wedding officiant practice.

So if you're a wedding officiant, this is a lane for this course.

Maybe your lane is church staff ministry.

Perhaps you are already a minister. Maybe you're a youth minister.

Knowing what this course teaches can be very valuable to you. Having the ordination status of an Advanced Wedding Officiant can mean a lot in a local church.

You may be able to serve your senior pastor in ways he had not imagined.

Let me give you an example.

I learned as a senior pastor that wedding officiant ministry brings people into contact with the church.

It makes sense.

Here you are, a wedding officiant. Somebody in the community is looking for someone to perform a wedding. As a staff minister, you have that ministry tool at your disposal.

Someone contacts the senior pastor, or a family knows someone looking for a Christian officiant, and you invite them in. Maybe your church even allows that couple to get married in your church building.

Perhaps wedding officiant ministry becomes part of your role as a staff minister.

All of that is possible.

You meet with the couple, provide counseling, put together the wedding program, conduct the ceremony, and perhaps attend the reception afterward.

What happens?

You become connected to an entire group of people. Many of them may not be attending church, and you have the opportunity to represent your church and your senior pastor through wedding ministry.

Some of you may be senior pastors who have never had advanced wedding officiant training.

If your church is not too large and you have time for it, I would encourage you to create a wedding officiant ministry where you, as the senior pastor, serve as the officiant.

I know I did that.

At one church, I was called to restart a congregation that had plateaued. There was not a lot of money and not a lot of resources.

I was looking for ways to reach young families.

Our church had a beautiful building located near a wedding banquet center.

I was the senior pastor, but I was also called to evangelism. Being a wedding officiant became a wonderful way to connect with people in the community.

Maybe that's you.

Maybe you're on staff and can do the same thing.

Another lane is the chaplain lane.

If you are a chaplain, this course is amazing for you because you may serve in a hospital, a jail, or another ministry setting.

There are weddings that occur in correctional environments.

Maybe you're part of a motorcycle club, and when people find out that you're an ordained Advanced Wedding Officiant, you'll be asked to perform weddings.

People get married. Relationships form. Communities develop.

A motorcycle club chaplain is often asked to perform weddings.

There are many chaplaincy settings where wedding opportunities arise.

Even in hospice situations, you may be asked to perform a brief wedding ceremony.

The chaplain lane and becoming an Advanced Wedding Officiant connect together very naturally.

Whatever chaplaincy parish you are called to serve—truck stop chaplaincy, corrections chaplaincy, motorcycle chaplaincy, hospice chaplaincy, or many others—wedding opportunities often arise because people are looking for a life partner.

As a chaplain, you typically operate through a consent-based ministry approach.

But when someone asks you to perform a wedding, you gain an additional ministry tool.

You remain a chaplain, but now you also bring wedding officiant skills into that relationship.

You learn how to provide basic pastoral care and serve people in meaningful ways.

It is wonderful in that lane.

The final lane is the coaching ministry lane.

Perhaps you have a coaching ministry or Life Coach Ministry practice.

You are talking with people about non-directive coaching. Maybe it's semi-directive because you are a minister and people are seeking spiritual help.

Maybe it is more directive because you are recommending classes or resources.

You are building a ministry practice.

Being a wedding officiant and offering weddings as one of your services is excellent.

People may say, "Oh, you're a minister who performs weddings as well?"

And you can say, "Yes."

Many people appreciate that combination.

I love how coaching and ministry come together.

Many Christians want help discerning their path in life, but they also want ministerial services from someone they trust.

This course helps prepare you for that.

So this course serves people in all of these ministry lanes.

Whether your lane is performing one wedding, building a wedding officiant practice, serving on church staff, working as a chaplain, or operating a coaching ministry, this course will help you become more effective as a minister in the lane where God has called you to serve.