Lay Pastor Definition: One who has the pastoral gift, who is trained and released to do the work of pastoring while still being employed in full-time secular work, and who is not necessarily ordained as an elder.The Lay Pastor Training Program is a tool specifically written with the growing church in mind. Designed to help train lay pastors to help alleviate the heavy ministry load of elders and the senior pastor, this sixteen week course teaches lay people to do the harvesting and pastoring at a relational level within the local church.