Discipleship & Leadership Development Group
Craig Corkill / Associate Director - Discipleship & Leadership Development
Discipleship and Leadership Development Group Teams & Team Leaders:
- Baptist Youth Ministries – Sarah Alarcon
- Children and Family Ministries – Louise Bartlett
- Ministry Affirmation – Jenny Casey
- Special Religious Education (SRE) – Shelley Ashton
“We want to get sharper at making disciples & disciple-makers, and we’ve got to develop leaders more intentionally”.
This is the recuring statement I hear as I engage with a wide variety of pastors and leaders across our movement. Whilst increasing intentionality in discipleship and leadership development is foundational to our Gen1K goal, at a deeper level it reflects God’s heart for his church to be one which equips and empowers people to engage in his mission in the world – genuinely exciting stuff!
Over the course of 2024, we saw 140 pastors engage with strategies that coach them toward the multiplication of disciples, leaders and churches (which continues to exceed our target of 130). These strategies included: LeadUp (for non-Senior/Sole pastors); coaching; Adaptive Leadership training; and Leadership Pipeline training. 2024 again saw the number of discipleship and leadership development training options available to pastors, leaders and churches increase and cover a wider range of areas. Without going into detail of all the options available, a ‘menu’ has been prepared which provides hyperlinks for further information. This can be accessed by clicking here.
The ‘Building A Discipling Culture’ (BDC) initiative, which many of our churches have engaged with, adapted the model in 2024 with the focus being greater adaptability and ease of engagement. BDC now gathers pastors in online cohorts for 12 months and empowers them to not only make disciples, but also practically equips them to train those in the church they lead. For further information about BDC click here.
One of our new leadership development initiatives in 2024 was ‘LiteHouse’ – a training program designed to equip new Senior/Sole/Campus/Service Pastors or those who could be shortly. Our first cohort saw thirteen pastors from across our movement engage in this training, covering topics as diverse as: intergenerational ministry; self-care; adaptive leadership; family systems theory; and fund raising for operational and capital initiatives. In addition to training modules, participants engaged in ministry simulation exercises that gave them the opportunity to put their training into practice in a ‘sandbox’ environment rather than directly in the real world. Whilst the program initially ran over six months, all thirteen were keen to continue for a further six months. An additional thirteen participants have also signed up to join this initiative in 2025.
Over the course of 2024, twenty-six churches called a new pastor, with most being Senior/Sole pastor roles. The number of churches actively seeking a new pastor was nineteen by the conclusion of 2024 which is the lowest level in many years. With that said we face three challenges in the area of pastoral placements:
- there are fewer Associate Pastors available which results in longer recruitment periods
- pastoral vacancies outside of the Greater Sydney area are now 70% of the total number of vacancies (up from 53% back in 2020)
- whilst the vacancy rate is low currently, to achieve our Gen1K goal we need to increase our number of pastors three-fold (assuming the ratio of pastors:churches remains constant)
We look forward to growing engagement with both discipleship and leadership development initiatives into 2025 and beyond.
Baptist Youth Ministries
Sarah Alarcon / Team Leader - Baptist Youth Ministries
2024 was an incredible year of growth, transformation, and impact for Baptist Youth and Young Adults (YA) Ministries. We have seen lives changed, leaders equipped, and young people empowered to deepen their faith and engagement with their communities. Additionally, we have been the recipient of a generous grant from the Vincent Fairfax Family for capacity building of the BYM team to grow the reach of equipping youth, young adults and their leaders for participation in their faith in their local church communities. This report highlights the key initiatives and milestones achieved throughout the year, demonstrating our commitment to equipping and supporting youth and young adult ministries across our movement, with a focus on our Gen1k goal.
BYM Equipping & Resourcing
Equipping youth and YA ministry leaders and the raising up of young leaders remains a core focus of BYM. In 2024, we trained and equipped 61 youth and young adults leaders through workshops, Connect Days, Lead Up conference, youth group visitations, administrative and pastoral support, and coaching. Furthermore, we celebrate the opportunity to partner with the Children’s and Families Team through the Leadership 101 program and State Kids Camp junior leader mentoring.
2024 saw the beginning of the development of a new resourcing website. With a plan to go live in 2025, this platform will provide valuable resources for youth and YA ministries, including games, Bible studies, risk assessment templates, training modules and leadership development guides. This project reflects our commitment to providing ongoing support to leaders, ensuring they have the tools they need to be effective in ministry.
IMPACT Gap Year Program
2024 saw five young adults successfully complete the IMPACT Gap Year experience. This program provided them with invaluable opportunities for spiritual growth, leadership development, global mission exposure and ministry experience. Additionally, a major redesign of the program was initiated, with plans for a new rollout in 2025. This redesign aims to enhance the structure and effectiveness of the program, ensuring greater flexibility, affordability and regional access for young adults to have an IMPACT Experience.
State Youth Camp (SYC)
State Youth Camp (SYC) 2024 was a major success, bringing together 380 young people from 26 churches. Held in Appin, NSW, this four-day event provided a powerful experience of worship, teaching, and activities, fostering spiritual growth and community building. Attendees travelled from various regions, including Northern Rivers, Canberra, and Riverina, demonstrating the widespread reach and impact of the event. The camp was a highlight of the year, reinforcing the importance of peak experience gatherings for young people to grow in their faith.
BYM Support & Connection
Throughout 2024, we prioritized supporting and connecting with churches and youth leaders. We engaged with 70 churches through phone calls, pastoral support meetings, consulting, and regional leader networks. Additionally, we attended events and facilitated equipping opportunities, ensuring that youth and young adult ministry leaders were encouraged in their valuable ministry work. This level of connection has strengthened relationships and enhanced the effectiveness of youth ministry efforts across our network.
As we move into 2025, we are excited for the opportunities ahead. With the rollout of the redesigned IMPACT YA experience and the launch of the new resourcing website, we anticipate even greater support for youth and YA ministries. We are grateful for the dedication of our leaders, volunteers, and supporters who make the work of BYM possible.
Children & Families Ministries
Louise Bartlett / Team Leader - Children & Families Ministries
The Baptist Association Children and Family ministries team works towards inspiring and equipping churches to welcome children as fellow disciples. In 2024 we continued to resource and equip leaders, further develop State Kids Camp, build on the impact of Connect and to develop and resource leaders across Baptist Churches in NSW/ACT and beyond.
Connect
Connect has become a cornerstone of equipping youth leaders, kids ministry leaders, and SRE teachers. In 2024, Mark McCrindle’s well received keynote shared insights into ministry with Gen Alpha and Gen Z. The ongoing conversation, collaboration, and more integrated approaches to ministry with children, young people, and their families is the goal of Connect and in 2024 400 leaders across 11 regions benefitted from this initiative. Our thanks to the regional facilitators who help shape the day for the benefit of their regions.
Leadership Development 101
Specifically designed for teens and tweens as they start serving in ministry, LD 101 continues to be a resource that churches are looking to provide training and inspiration to these new and emerging leaders. We are looking forward to adding further ministry specific modules in 2025 including in the areas of AV and youth ministry.
Exploring Baptism
Our team collaborate regularly with other state’s Baptist Associations to share and create resources. During National Baptism week we launched a new Exploring Baptism resource for kids and teens. The feedback about the content and the quality has been encouraging and we look forward to working on additional resources in 2025. Louise Bartlett continues as the Chair of the Australian Baptist National Next Gen delegated body.
State Kids Camp
State Kids Camp for kids in years 4 to 7 ran again in (July) 2024 at Kiah Ridge. SKC sees churches connecting together to provide a peak experience helping kids to take steps in their following of Jesus. SKC also provides an opportunity to develop young leaders as they serve alongside the team with a mentor growing and learning together.
Drew Harrison finished his role with the team mid 2024. Drew is now serving as a school chaplain in the Hunter. We are very grateful for Drew’s thoughtful and wise contributions particularly through Connect and the development of resources for consultancy training and Baptism.
The team (Louise, Kaye and Rachael) look forward to supporting churches as we continue to welcome children as fellow disciples to a community of faith that is inviting everyone to follow Jesus and to learn, serve, celebrate and pray together.
Affirmation for Ministry
Jenny Casey / Team Leader - Pastoral Affirmations
This was a significant year in the accreditation and recognition space with a lot of work being done as you will see below.
- In 2024 we began interviewing applicants for recognition as we moved to the second year of the new affirmation process that was adopted at the 2022 Annual Assembly. The new process for those moving from recognition to accreditation has now begun.
- The Confidential Questionnaire, the screening document used with all new applicants, was given a significant rework in 2023. In 2024 it was approved by the Affirmation Oversight Team (AOT). It will be ready for use with applicants in 2025.
- There was a large number of attendees at the 2024 information session for those interested in applying for ministry affirmation. More than double the usual number of people have begun the process of ministry affirmation with a view to being interviewed in 2025.
- A new policy for retired ministers was written and introduced in 2024 with the purpose of empowering our retired ministers.
- After a number of years of low compliance (Working with Children Checks, CMD engagement and up to date Safe Spaces training) across our recognised and accredited ministers, a great deal of effort was put into this area. At the end of 2024, compliance was at 100%, after ending 2023 at only 30% compliance.
- A number of the significant affirmation documents are being translated into various community languages, to make the process more accessible for culturally and linguistically diverse pastors and leaders.
- In 2024 a number of pastors and other leaders in the Hunter Region were trained to conduct interviews with affirmation applicants within their region. Dates have been set for affirmation interviews to take place in the Greater West region in 2025.
- In 2024 the annual Accreditation Service was held at Macquarie Park when 17 new ministers were accredited. The service was a wonderful acknowledgement of these new ministers, and their calling and faithfulness, and the way in which God has equipped and gifted them.
As we continue to fulfill God’s Gen1K vision we know that equipping and empowering leaders is a huge part of that. We are blessed by the calibre of leaders we see applying to be accredited and recognised, and encouraged that God continues to raise up faithful servants.
Special Religious Education
Shelley Ashton / Team Leader - Special Religious Education (SRE)
2024 was another big year for SRE as we had to implement a new Department of Education Criminal Declaration for all teachers and helpers. We had to ensure all new teachers had completed this as part of their application process and ensure all current teachers and helpers had completed this by an October 31st deadline. We were able to process all our people (approx. 480) by early September.
2024 saw a record number of teachers step out of teaching SRE – around 110. This was mostly due to issue of age, health and changes in work arrangements with a small number transferring to other denominations. We are thankful for the service many of those teachers gave of many years. We are grateful too that we welcomed 70 new teachers who were authorised over the 12 months.
At the start of 2025 we had some others not able to return to teach. Our current number of active teachers and helpers is around 430 with around 25 working through the authorisation process at time of writing this report.
These numbers are concerning but certainly not unique to Baptist churches, with other denominations facing similar decline over recent years. This can be attributed to a few reasons – aging church demographics, changes in people’s availability due to work, health, and family constraints. Also, fewer churches are actively promoting and supporting SRE.
ICCOREIS (the peak SRE body in NSW) has been working with Approved Providers like the Baptist Association to bring about additional resources for recruiting and promoting SRE, and we are excitedly anticipating Baptist churches around the state seeing ways in which people connect with the valuable ministry of SRE. We hope, therefore, to see an increase in people actively involved.
We continue to provide a quality training course, not just for teachers from Baptist churches, but other denominations as well. Modes of training we offered in 2024, were on Zoom, online, and a couple of face-to-face opportunities. We continue to partner with ACC for our Zoom training. Across the three modes of training, we trained more than 120 new teachers and over 250 people requiring refresher/update training.
In November we participated in the biannual SRE Parliamentary Celebration. Politicians from both major parties offered their support of SRE in public education and spoke of the value it brings to students and school communities. This helped counter the public push from a few areas to remove SRE from school time.
Our small team continues to serve our SRE teachers through training, admin support and guidance. Frances continues to be an invaluable asset to our team administratively, supporting my role and freeing me up to focus on training, and supporting our teachers and coordinators, and maintain our online training course.
Lysander continues to support our High School SRE teachers and serve on the High School working group which is a subcommittee of ICCOREIS. At only one day a week his role is limited, but he focuses, mainly on curriculum review and support as well as liaising with High School teachers and negotiating with schools when there are timetable issues to work through.
We anticipate an increase in both SRE class sizes in 2025 as well as a push to reinstate SRE in schools that dropped SRE during the COVID period. ICCOREIS and providers are actively working with coordinators and teachers to strengthen on-the-ground relationships in schools.
Please pray with us for SRE in 2025, that we see a return to strong numbers of teachers and new schools participating in SRE, especially in our regional areas.
