Recognised Pastors Update
In late 2017, Assembly approved the creation of Recognised Pastor status, designed to provide affirmation for people serving in specific pastoral roles in our member churches. It provides a pathway for strengthened relationship and alignment across our movement, including relevant training, information and resourcing. It is also one of the steps we have taken in seeking to respond well to the Royal Commission, making sure those leading in our churches have ongoing accountability and support at a number of different levels.
Recognition is not the same as Accreditation and Ordination, and it is not transferable beyond a person’s current role, but we hope for those serving in lead roles that it can be a pathway towards Accreditation in the future. For those serving part time or in specific roles, it is a great encouragement and affirmation.
As of July 2019, we are excited to have affirmed our first seven Recognised Pastors, who serve in a range of pastoral roles including Children, Youth, Community Life, Associate, and Lead Pastors. They are Ray Bell (Coromandel Baptist), Ben Carbone (The Port Church), Jess Evans (Parkside Baptist), Llewelyn Hoy (Parkside Baptist), Katrina Levi (King’s Baptist), (Jenni McKee (Enfield Baptist), and Daniel Newton (Blackwood Hills Baptist). These pastors have undertaken training relevant to their roles, completed BCSA’s Recognised Pastor intensive, received endorsement from their churches, been approved by the Accreditation and Ordination Committee and committed themselves to ongoing learning and development.
Our next BCSA Recognised Pastors intensive will be held on 5-6 September at the Baptist Centre. The intensive is a requirement for becoming Recognised, but also open to others who would like to find out more about ministry in our movement. It provides an overview of who we are and what we do as Baptist Churches of South Australia, as well as an introduction to Baptist History and Baptist Values. We also cover topics including ongoing spiritual formation, character development, and self-care.
Those interested in attending can register by emailing Melinda Cousins – mcousins@sabaptist.asn.au.
Application packs, as well as our Recognised Pastor Handbook and Policy are available on our website: https://sabaptist.asn.au/recognised-pastor/
