Andrew Baldwin is pastor at Petone Baptist Church and part of the Transitional Board of the Lower North Island Baptist Association.
The Transition Board of the Lower North Island Baptist Association has recently released its report recommending significant changes to simplify and clarify the structure and organisation of the regional association and how it fits into the national structure of the Baptist Union. You can download the 38-page PDF of the report here.
“We want to put relationships at the heart of our association, so have recommended shifting responsibility for the governance and administration of the regional association to the level of the National Support Centre,” says Co-Chair Elliot Rice.
“We believe that this will allow the relationships between local churches to focus on fostering a sense of belonging, supporting each other with mutual resourcing and seeking shared gospel renewal across our region,” agrees Derek Wenmoth, fellow Co-Chair of the Board.
Regional Leader Mike Warring is enthusiastic about the proposed changes. “This report is potentially game-changing for our region and the wider Baptist movement. It will allow us to focus our regional coordination and cooperation on the things that really matter.”
“This process has also allowed us to consider the underlying spiritual foundations of the association and to identify areas where a spiritual reset might be needed,” says Mike.
The Transition Board was formed when the AGM of the Association held in October last year recognised a need to revitalise and restructure the Association to address concerns around financial sustainability, governance issues, communication breakdowns, and lack of shared ownership among member churches.
The AGM mandated the Transition Board to explore restructuring the Lower North Island Baptist Association (LNIBA) and bring recommendations back to the region’s churches soon after Easter 2025.
The Transition Board has spent the last six months prayerfully discerning, researching, engaging with churches and collaborating together to come up with a number of recommendations.
The Transition Board’s central recommendation is a structural and cultural reset of the LNIBA. The core shift involves moving away from a governance-focused regional association toward a regionally embedded action arm of the Baptist Union of New Zealand (BUNZ).
“This new structure will enable our churches to associate more effectively, support one another, and collaborate toward our shared purpose as part of the wider Baptist movement,” says Elliot.
This change will involve disbanding the LNIBA Executive in its current form and establishing in its place a Regional Support Team, formed by the Regional Leader, that will focus on connection, support and shared action.
The Regional Support Team will seek to foster deeper relational connections between pastors, leaders, and churches in the region and look for opportunities for churches to collaborate on shared mission and ministry endeavours.
The report also recommends creating a Specialist Advice and Support Team that will provide practical help to churches in areas such as human resources, governance, and property management.
Derek concludes, “This proposal is not simply about structure. It is about cultivating a shared spirit—one marked by humility, service, relationship, and a renewed commitment to the call of Christ on our churches. The recommendations provide a framework for stronger, more sustainable support for our leaders and communities—so that, together, we can embody the gospel more fully across the Lower North Island.”
The Lower North Island Baptist Association was formed in 2022 when the Wellington Association expanded to include the churches of Taranaki, Hawkes Bay and Manawatu-Whanganui. It is made up of around 51 faith communities.
You can download the 38-page PDF Report of the LNIBA Transition Board here.
Photo: Supplied by Andrew Baldwin. Elliot Rice, Co-chair of the LNIBA Transition Board, reads the Board’s recently released report.
