Developing Ministry

Developing Ministry is one of the three keys to how we are seeking to implement our purpose of growing healthy congregations and bringing encouragement.

The ‘Ministry Team’ is a working group which reports to the WEBA executive and is currently working according to the following brief:

• To offer opportunities for the development and training of ministry.
• To work with the churches to ensure that every church has some form of pastoral leadership
• To offer ongoing support, care & development for pastors
• To facilitate the bringing together of ministers/leaders
• To promote a wider understanding of ministry and encourage a sharing of specialist ministries.
• Encourage collaborative forms of ministry within and between churches, clusters.

A fundamental conviction is that ‘ministry’ is a good word which has been used far too narrowly in the past. Our talk of ‘The Minister’ has not helped the Church as a whole grasp what is, historically, a core conviction for Baptist Christians – that is, everyone in the body of Christ is called to ‘works of ministry’ (Eph.4:12). In the most important sense, we are all ministers and we would wish to encourage all the many and varied forms of ministry within and among our churches.
There is, however, obviously a need for some to serve the Church in particular ways, which demand more time and energy than spare time allows. If you think you might be called to serve full-time as a Pastor, Evangelist or Youth Specialist, speak to your own Pastor in the first instance and have a look at the processes used by WEBA and BUGB to discern, test and affirm such callings.