From the 1st century until now, the Catholic Church has grown from thousands to billions of followers. As the Church continues to grow and progress, lay ministry became an important and essential part of the Church. Lay ministry, also called to as lay ecclesial ministry, refers to the service done by the lay people. The lay people are those who entered God's community through the Sacraments of Initiation, mainly Baptism. Ecclesial ministers participate in the parish life and they may lead as a principal, a youth ministry leader or even as a director of liturgy. There have to be ways in which ministers grow through a role in ministry. There are also rules and guidelines that are needed to be followed when choosing and when becoming a minister. To guide the development of lay ministry, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have written Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord: A Resource for Guiding the Development of Lay Ecclesial Ministry, a source that clarifies certain issues and lays the path to ecclesial ministry. .
For people to be part of lay ministry, it is crucial that they have a desire to serve the Church and God in a more complete manner. If a person has no interest in serving the Church, its people and the poor, they cannot fulfill the call to be a part of lay ecclesial ministry. They must possess a commitment and a habit of praying and serving others regularly as well as a passion to live out and the desire to teach the words of Christ. In order for people to be fully ready to embark on the journey of being lay ministers, they need to be formed. According to Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord: A Resource for Guiding the Development of Lay Ecclesial Ministry, there are four areas of formation. Human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation provide the framework for lay ministers. .
Human formation helps lay ministers become adults in the world as well as the Church.