Both Karen Warner and Wayne Schache are part of our National Support Centre team. Karen is Leadership Coordination Director and is part of Eastgate Christian Centre, one of our churches in east Auckland. Wayne is Operations and Finance Director and is part of Titirangi Baptist Church in west Auckland.
Today the consultation process begins for two separate pieces of work that will have an impact on all of the 250 faith communities and churches within the Baptist Union of New Zealand. Everybody who is part of these faith communities and churches, the ‘Team of 40,000’ people part of the Baptist ‘tribe’ in New Zealand, is welcome to participate in these consultation processes:
Serious misconduct consultation
Collectively, the Baptist Churches of New Zealand strive to be safe places with safe people. At the National Hui last November, there was overwhelming support from the delegates representing the churches, for the National Support Centre to develop a mechanism to help keep our people and places safe when it comes to serious misconduct by church pastors. Work over the last six months now brings us to a time of consultation on a proposed new mechanism.
The webpage below outlines the proposal and how to participate in the three-month consultation process:
leadership.baptist.nz/elders-and-governance/resources-training/serious-misconduct
Governance and constitution review
Leading up to and during our National Hui last November, one of the four ‘Big Bites’ on the table for discussion was: A new way of making decisions together. The purpose of this work is to consider the structural foundations for the way we interact and make decisions together as a movement of Baptist churches.
At the National Hui, there was overwhelming support from the delegates representing the churches, for the Governance and Constitution Review Committee to continue their work, bringing it to a first consultation phase in 2024 – and that starts now.
The webpage below provides background and a discussion paper to enable participation in the three-month consultation process:
baptist.nz/governance-and-constitution-review
Who can participate?
All people who are part of New Zealand Baptist churches are welcome to participate in this consultation process. For more information, please visit the websites listed above.
Photo: Morgan Dews, National Hui 2023, Manukau City Baptist Church.
