There is a dearth of research and publications about lay ministry in African American Christian denominations. Also there is little information about activism in lay ministry that leads to societal change. This project is a qualitative study of lay ministry in the three major Black Methodist denominations and how it operates. The project will explore the praxis of lay ministry generally and in particular, how lay ministry works in the midst of a global pandemic, natural disasters, economic uncertainty, racial reckoning, and police violence from denominations having legacies of freedom and self-determination. The project gives special attention to how community organizing might inform an activist lay ministry.

Data for the project will be collected through a maximum of 30 in-depth interviews and three focus groups of key informants from each of the three denominations studied and at least one mixed focus group with representatives from all three denominations. Interviews will be recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcriptions will then be coded to achieve data saturation which will help determine the overarching themes. Similarly, the focus groups will be recorded and transcribed for accuracy and consistency with the notes. The emergent major group ideas or themes will be organized, categorized, and interpreted into a report that summarizes the themes of the focus groups and the research question of how can community organizing inform lay ministry that is empowering, effective, and relevant.