Ministry of All Believers with Rob Gordon and Mike Sykuta
As a lay member of the United Methodist Church, YOU are called to be a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, living out the disciplines of Jesus and growing the Body of Christ through listening, learning, loving and leading. North Central District Lay Leaders Rob Gordon and Mike Sykuta lead five sessions exploring this call to lay ministry.
This training module is available on Absorb, our on-demand learning platform that offers online courses on your timeline, at a pace that works for you. The goal of this learning platform is to equip local church leaders on a variety of topics to support their work.
About the Instructors
Dr. Michael Sykuta is co-lay leader of the North Central District of the Missouri Annual Conference. He has served in a variety of capacities within the local church and at the Annual and General Conference levels. In addition to his current role as district co-lay leader, he is a coach and facilitator for churches interested in strategic ministry planning and the simplified accountable structure model of church governance. For his day job, Mike is a professor of applied economics at the University of Missouri and teaches at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He lives in Columbia, Missouri, and is a member of Community UMC.
Dr. Rob Gordon currently serves churches in the North Central District as a district co-lay leader. Rob and his wife, Linda, reside in Boonville, Missouri, where they attend Nelson Memorial Methodist Church. Dr. Gordon’s professional service to public schools spanned 30 years, including as high school principal at New Franklin and Moberly Public Schools. Gordon served as superintendent for the La Plata School District and Assistant Superintendent for the Pleasant Hill School District before finishing up his public-school career as superintendent for the Marshall School District. Following retirement from public schools, he continued his professional service as an educational consultant through the University of Missouri for 11 years. Rob officially retired from the University of Missouri and professional life in March of 2019 and now focuses upon his work as district co-lay leader, serving churches as a coach and facilitator for strategic ministry planning and simplified accountability structure model of governance.
This course is one of four within the Launching Lay Ministry pathway for laity learning and discernment. Courses on the Launching Lay Ministry pathway are required for individuals pursuing either Certified Pulpit Supply or Certified Lay Minister in the Missouri Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. To learn more, visit www.moumethodist.org/laity.