Through baptism, all are united to Christ and share in his mission of proclaiming the Good News of God's saving love. This adult formation process serves Christ's mission in the world by developing well-formed leaders - disciples - in the ministry of the church.

"The adult character of the People of God flows from baptism and confirmation which are the foundation of the Christian life and ministry. They signify initiation into a community of believers who, according to their state in life, respond to God's call to holiness and accept responsibility for the ministry of the Church." (Called and Gifted (Paragraph #11) National Conference of Catholic Bishops)

It has taken the shortage of priestly and religious vocations to awaken in us an appreciation of a broadly based shared ministry and a realization that it is in the nature of the Church as the Body of Christ to be endowed with many gifts, ministries and offices. This is a time of great challenge and opportunity in the Church, not least of all because the gifts of the lay faithful have been flourishing in unprecedented numbers and in unforeseen ways.

Following the Second Vatican Council, there has been a rediscovery in Catholic theology of baptism as the foundational sacrament of ministry, and a clearer recognition that ministry is not just for the ordained. The council related the baptismal call, the ministry of the baptized, and the office of the ordained to the mystery of Christ. It is found in the threefold office of Christ as prophet, priest, and servant leader. Every vocation in the Church and every ministry is rooted in the same reality of Christ and his presence by the Spirit in the Church. All ministry, be it the ministry of the baptized or of the ordained, is to be understood in relation to the community of the Church which expresses and receives its identity as the Body of Christ in Word and Sacrament. All ministry is for the service of the Church and the wider world, a participation in the ministry of Christ the Servant who, after washing the feet of his disciples urges them, and us, one and all: "As I have done for you, you should do also." (John 13:15)

The Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, calls us to an awareness of the one priesthood of Christ into which we are initiated through baptism. What emerges from the Second Vatican Council is a clear theology of the laity rooted in an understanding of the Church as the People of God, in the universal call to holiness (Lumen Gentium 4). Thus, with the Second Vatican Council, there is a restoration of the baptismal dignity of the laity, an emerging recognition of baptism as the basis and foundation of all ministry, and a fuller realization that ministry is not exercised only by the ordained. Ministry is rooted in the charisms - gifts given by the Spirit in baptism:

There are different kinds of gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)

All Christians are configured to Christ through baptism, for that is the sacrament by which the new People of God are incorporated into the Church, participate in Christ's death and resurrection, and assume the name "Christian." All Christians are called to a life of discipleship and have the obligation of extending his/her work and presence in the world today, advancing the Reign of God in our own time and place. All share in the one same vocation - to be and to build the Body of Christ, building up the Reign of God here and now.

Most lay persons are called to transform the world by living out their baptismal vocation, being and becoming the Body of Christ in the world, advancing the Kingdom of God amidst the pressing demands of marriage, family, school and workplace.

The baptized also witness to the light and love of Christ through all forms of prophetic utterance, through teaching, through the ministry of catechesis, and through theological reflection.

The baptized worship God in Spirit and in Truth through full, conscious and active participation in the Sunday liturgy, through the proclamation of the Word in word and in deed, through the liturgical ministries of lector, musician or eucharistic minister, and as a member of the assembly.

The baptized serve God through administration, feeding the hungry, caring for the needs of the sick, working for justice, washing the feet of the homeless, safeguarding and protecting the rights of the last, the littlest, and the least, giving the Body and Blood of Christ to those gathered at the Table of the Lord, and bringing this Holy Communion to those who are sick at home or in hospital.

In our own day, in addition to the call to the office of bishop, presbyter, or deacon, and the vocation to the consecrated religious life, some lay persons are called to "lay ecclesial ministry," a vocation of full-time Church service in response to the needs of each local community. This must be distinguished from the vocation of all the baptized to advance the Reign of God through their commitments to marriage and family, workplace and social responsibility. It must also be distinguished from the many other lay ministries that flourish in the Church for the building up of the Church and the transformation of the world. Within the context of the common call to service which is given to all the baptized, "lay ecclesial ministry" refers to professionally trained or otherwise properly prepared women and men, including vowed religious, who are in positions of service and leadership in the Church.

This is a unique vocation in the Church, a call to service in the name of the Church. "Lay ecclesial ministry" does not describe one kind of service or work, but refers to the ministries of committed persons, which are exercised in a stable, public, recognized, and authorized way. This is Church ministry in the strict and formal sense. It emerges from a personal call, requires appropriate formation, and is undertaken with both the support and the authorization of competent Church authority. Lay ecclesial ministers serve in such capacities as Pastoral Associate, Parish Life Director, Parish Business Manager, Director of Religious Education, Catechist, Director of the RCIA process, Youth/Young Adult Minister or Liturgist.

Whatever the vocation or ministry, ordained or nonordained, each and every one is an expression of the threefold mission of every baptized Christian. What the Church is - a Body of witness, worship, and service, participating in the threefold office of Christ who is prophet, priest, and servant leader - is what each of us is called to be. We do this according to the gifts, the charisms we have received in baptism. These differ. But whatever we do, we do it in the name of the Lord in the power of the Spirit for the building of the Body of Christ and the transformation of the wider world.