SWFA Budget Update

SWFA Budget Update

Baptist Advocacy Update April 2025

Can our Budget create a Safer World?

Last Tuesday night, my eyes were on the Australian Federal Budget. With a Federal Election looming, and the financial stress felt by a growing number of Australians, this budget is one of particular importance and significance.

One of the important issues at the top of my mind is one that doesn’t rate much of a mention in most discussions – Australia’s foreign aid.

In a single year, Australian Aid reaches millions, including 2.38 million receiving direct assistance, 248,000 able to attend school, 10 million immunised and 240,000 women and girls supported after violence. The work done by Australian Aid saves lives, and honours the Godly principles of neighbourly love and justice.

But foreign aid is under attack. Since my previous update on this topic in September, the US government has reduced their foreign aid by a catastrophic 83%, and the UK is set to divert money away from humanitarian aid to military spending.

But where others step away, we can step up – as individuals, as a nation, and as God’s church – that is where the Safer World for All campaign comes in.


Safer World for All

Organised by Micah Australia, the Safer World for All campaign is a platform designed to help Australians collectively raise their voice to inspire our leaders to act boldly and mercifully; to see foreign aid stabilised and supported, and for a pathway to be made to increase humanitarian assistance from 0.68% to 1% of the Federal Budget.

As Baptist World Aid is an official partner of the movement, our team has had many opportunities to partner with Micah on this initiative:

  • The SFWA campaign has conducted 55 meetings with our federal elected representatives over the last 6 months – I was glad to be a part of a thoughtful and comprehensive meeting with the Hon. Josh Wilson MP, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy and Member for Fremantle.
  • Others in the team have been conducting workshops at schools across the nation; our Church Relationship Manager in WA, Ed Devine has been visiting schools across the State, gathering signatures to send and present to MPs across the country.
  • Finally, Micah Australia have organised Electorate Forums in critical seats to engage the candidates in the upcoming Federal Election, including in the seat of Deakin where our Advocacy Policy Manager Mike Bartlett recently had the privilege of boldly advocating for the life-saving work of Australian Aid.


So, how did last week’s budget stack up?

The good news is foreign aid remains stable. With a $135m increase, Australia’s budget for foreign aid now sits at $5.1 billion, and is directing much of its spending projects in the Asia-Pacific region that have been most affected by the cuts to USAID. As Micah’s Executive Director Tim Costello reflected, “In a world where the US and UK are retreating, Australia’s decision to hold the line and lift aid funding is a principled and strategic move”. The message of Safer World for All is cutting through to both those in power and with key figures in the Opposition and crossbench.

However more can be done: using the measure of Gross National Income, we have slipped from 0.19% to 0.18%, and as a measure of the budget, we have gone from 0.68% to 0.65% – just one tenth of our Defence spend.

The opportunity for Australia to provide security, safety, stability and compassion in our world is immense. Where others step away, we can step up, and in the Treasurer’s own words – “we’ve come a long way but there’s more work to do”

I couldn’t agree more.


Getting involved

If these issues press your heart, I would encourage you to add your name to the growing number of Australians in the campaign. The heads of Australia’s Christian denominations have written to the leaders of the major parties, but we all have a part to play.

Follow the link here to join the church petition as an individual, as a whole church, or as a Christian workplace or organisation. You’ll find summaries and up to date information and videos that can be easily shared with your church and community. More resources can be found here, including the Church engagement toolkit.

As always you are welcome and encouraged to lend your financial support to the life-saving Gospel work of Baptist World Aid Australia where it’s needed most.

And finally, as you consider your vote and voice in the upcoming Election, please pray. Pray for our local leaders and politicians, that those with conviction have sway with their party rooms and party leadership, and that this coming election not be marked by division, but instead marked by bold, life-saving love.


Theo Doraisamy (left) meets with MP Josh Wilson with other Safer World for All campaigners.

Picture 2


Student Representative Council members at Austin Cove Baptist College with their signed SFWA postcards.

Author Theo Doraisamy is the Advocacy Support Volunteer for Baptist World Aid. He is a member of the Baptist Advocacy Roundtable and the Pacific Australian Emerging Leaders Network, a joint initiative between Micah Australia and the Pacific Conference of Churches. He is a secondary teacher in his day job.

Join the Safer World for All campaign here.

Email Ed Devine at ed.devine@baptistworldaid.org.au to arrange a School or Church visit for Safer World for All.

Follow Baptist World Aid’s work here.

Follow Micah Australia here.

Becoming a Gospel Prepper

Becoming a Gospel Prepper

The Good Samaritan must have had some margin in life, don’t you think? Loving your enemy-neighbour that much surely took quite some admin! Bothering to attend to the battered stranger in the first place. Then there was all the over-and-above: Time taken to get him to care, money spent for treatment and recouperation, forty bucks for the deluxe donkey-wash.

Who has the time and money ready for that sort of spontaneous act? Uncomfortably, my first answer is ‘Not me’, and my second answer is, ‘The person who loves their neighbour the Jesus way.’ So going forward as a sacred agent, I have adjustments to make.

I think preparation is the key. Careful preparation opens up windows for spontaneity, as any romantic will tell you. So what would it look like to be a gospel prepper?

‘Preppers’, of course, are people who stockpile supplies in case of a future disaster. Sacred agents similarly have an eye on the future. We’re not oblivious to the dark powers and spiritual forces in the world, so putting on the armour of God Eph6 is good preparation for standing firm. But part of that armour, in Paul’s metaphor, is “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” So standing firm does not mean standing back or standing still!

Are we fitted out to cross that road and help that bleeding stranger? To run up to that chariot and share with the Ethiopian official? Ac8 To make the most of every opportunity with gracious conversation? Col4 The peace we have with God means we prepare not out of a sense of doom or lack of control in this crazy world – but with all the assurance of the one who naps in the boat before calming the storm.Mt8 The peace we have with God is a shalom we can share in radical ways like the Samaritan. It shows and tells the good news that what’s upon us – and right up in our face – is not a zombie apocalypse, but the kingdom of God.

Here’s a very basic Gospel Prepper’s Checklist:

  • TIME: You can’t schedule sudden opportunities. But why not arrange a code-word you can say/text to your friends/family that means, ‘Sorry, I’m delayed by an opportunity to show and share Christ’? Just having that conversation in advance could be helpful all round.
  • MONEY: A gospel-opportunity fund – even if it’s only enough to buy someone a meal – it’s set aside and ready to go when the opportunity comes.
  • WORDS: Memorise a basic outline of your own testimony/gospel outline, cleared of jargon and tangents and practised on your Christian friends – so you really are ‘always prepared to give an answer’ when asked about your hope.1Pe3

Imagine how effective we’d be at sharing Jesus if we were prepped up like that? How prepared are you? And what would you add to the checklist? Discuss!

 

Author: Andrew Turner is the Director of Crossover for Australian Baptist Ministries.

Thanks so much to all who have supported Crossover in Helping Australian Baptists Share Jesus. To give to Crossover see crossover.org.au/offering

Tensions

Tensions

Written by Sally Pim

You may remember, five years ago, a plea for prayer being sent out for a set of twins born in the village near us, to a family dear to us here. These premature twins had a fight on their hands with the boy weighing less than a kilo, and the girl not much more. Many of you wrote that you were praying. Thank you! Nurses who received my email sent suggestions that might help these babies. Thank you! Amazingly, these twins received the help they needed and today we celebrate their fifth birthday. It is a joy to see these two thriving and happy. It truly is a miracle. The family continue to thank God for His goodness and His mercy, for the way He saved these children. 

Yesterday morning the twins neighbour (who is a good friend of ours) let us know that his daughter had just had her baby, a new beautiful baby boy. She had gone into labour on Monday and we had been visiting at the hospital and waiting for the news. It was special to visit the new mother and her son at her parents’ home and pray together for this new life. He was so small, also premature, but the family had good plans and ways to care for him. 

It was a shock that, very sadly, he passed away last night. This baby was surrounded by a loving family who had been celebrating his birth only hours before. 

This morning I sat with the grieving mother, her sisters, their mother and several others as the men took the baby to bury in the cemetery. The twin’s mother and her family were there too, crying with this family, sharing the pain of loss.

A loss indescribable. Too sad for words. 

While in one house we were singing that God is good to give life to these twins, just next door, a life had been lost. 

Life and death. Joy and grief. 

And God is somewhere in both. 

I can’t understand it, the tension of this is too much for me to comprehend, and yet. I choose to believe that God is still good. I know His love is there for both families. Why some live and some die doesn’t make sense to me, and yet as I get older, day by day I am learning that life seems to hold joy and suffering in tension constantly. And while it looks like joy and suffering will continue all my days, so much more can I rely on God’s constant love to continue. He is near the broken-hearted (Psalm 34:18). He weeps with those who weep (John 11:35). He delights in us (Psalm 147:11), and rejoices with us (Zephaniah 3:17). We can trust that He will not leave us alone in any of this. 

So often in this culture, and in the ones many of us sit in, we try to explain why bad things happen. But blame and condemnation can’t take away the pain that is felt from the loss of a loved one. Only love can comfort, only love can heal. If God is love, then we can look to Him, lean in to Him, to receive his care and tending.

Author Sally Pim is an Intercultural worker for Baptist Mission Australia. Since early 2017, Sally has been serving in Mozambique, among the Yawo people group. Sally lives in Massangulo, a rural town in northern Mozambique.

Click here to support Sally and her work with Baptist Mission Australia

For more information about Baptist Mission Australia, please visit baptistmissionaustralia.org 

The Remarkable Florence Young

The Remarkable Florence Young

Recently at a gathering of Baptist leaders from around the Pacific, I was privileged to meet Eric Maefonea and Thomas Weape, leaders of the Baptist movement in the Solomon Islands (the South Seas Evangelical Church). They spoke of their movement of over 600 churches, and 100,000 members. One in seven Solomon Islanders is a SSEC member. ‘But did you know how we got started?’ asked Eric.

In 1882, Florence Young was 25 years old and still a relatively new Christian. Invited to visit her brothers, who’d bought a sugarcane plantation in Bundaberg, she was ready to set off from Sydney when a couple of friends offered to pray for her. They all knelt together, and after her friends had prayed, she went to stand up. ‘Why don’t you pray, too?’ they asked.

This was not something she was confident to do. In fact, quite the opposite. She desperately tried to put words together, but nothing would come out, and after a couple of agonisingly awkward minutes, one friend finished for her. She journeyed north feeling acutely embarrassed, but also unable to shake off of one her friend’s prayers – asking God to make her a blessing to everyone she saw on the plantation.

On arriving, she saw a housekeeper with four young children and decided they must be her mission field. She offered to teach them Bible stories – and even managed to pray in front of them! But she realised that she also saw 80 indentured Melanesian labourers, rough, uneducated, without English, and most of all, without the gospel. Should she offer to help them too?

To her surprise, ten showed up to her first lesson, where she used a chrysalis as an object lesson to describe the transformation God brings. It took weeks to get beyond ‘God – so – loved’ in her Bible lesson. But already more and more workers were attending, some returning to learn every evening. Gradually friends and connections joined in the work, which spread to other plantations and towns.

When the Federal Government eventually outlawed such overseas labour schemes, over 2,000 workers had been baptised and taught the Bible essentials! But would they keep their faith upon returning to the Solomons? To find out, she bought a boat, didn’t she? And to her delight she found that the faith was not merely being kept, but shared. Churches and mission stations multiplied – 179 by her last visit – despite the very serious dangers of disease, ship-wreck and cannibalism.

It’s a great story, worth reading in more detail. I’ve not even mentioned Ms Young’s two stints in China and one nervous breakdown. But I love how powerfully God works through even the weak and shy – especially through them – when they pay attention to the sacred agent’s assignment to be a blessing to all they see. And to really seeing!

Who do you see?

 

Author: Andrew Turner is the Director of Crossover for Australian Baptist Ministries.
Image: missiology.org.uk

Thanks so much to all who have supported Crossover in Helping Australian Baptists Share Jesus. To give to Crossover see crossover.org.au/offering

Turning One Talent into Two

Turning One Talent into Two

Sacred agents have a strong sense of responsibility – or at least we should have. I’m sure you’ve noticed how many of Jesus’ stories are about whether agents will be found faithful when an absent master returns. So we have an eye on that day as we go about doing what we can with what’s been entrusted to us.

But there may be times and seasons where we feel we’re not kicking goals or making much of a difference. It may simply be that the Spirit is giving us a season of rest between assignments – in that case resting is the assignment we’re to be faithful with! But still there are times when we feel we’re just spinning our wheels, and not bearing much fruit (like some bogged and barren motorised citrus tree).

What to do with our talent in such a season? The bottom line, says Jesus, is to put it in the bank and at least make some interest. Better than burying it, anyway. But if you’re looking to do a bit better, here’s an idea:

Find someone who is bearing ministry fruit, and help them out.

One of Jesus’ lesser-known sayings is this: ‘Whoever receives a prophet because they are a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous person because they are a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because they are my disciple, truly I tell you, they will never lose their reward.’ Matthew 10

It makes simple sense. If you do something practical to enable someone with a fruitful ministry to produce even more fruit, then that extra fruit happens because of your action. If Billy Graham came to town and was planning to do a day of laundry, wouldn’t it be a no-brainer to do it for him, to enable him one extra speaking event? You might bring dozens of people into the kingdom just by standing in front of a washing machine.

But it takes some humility, doesn’t it? It might be tempting to look at Billy and think, ‘When was the last time you hung out washing, Bill? This will be good for you. And give me some platform time for a change.’ It’s only when we realise that it’s not about us, that all the talents belong to the Master, and all that matters is that his ministry bears fruit, that we’ll open our eyes to see the creative opportunities we have – even when it feels like nothing’s happening.

What ministries are flourishing in your neck of the woods? And how might you get a piece of their reward?

 

Author: Andrew Turner is the Director of Crossover for Australian Baptist Ministries.

Image: Scottsdale Mint (Unsplash)


Thanks so much to all who have supported Crossover in Helping Australian Baptists Share Jesus. To give to Crossover see crossover.org.au/offering

Stand with Myanmar

Stand with Myanmar

Baptist Advocacy Update September 2024

Three years on from a devastating military coup, over 3 million are displaced due to the Myanmar civil war, with the UN reporting that over 18 million within the country are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

In solidarity with Myanmar, including the 17 Myanmar congregations in Western Australia alone, we strongly urge Australians everywhere to lend their voices to the cause.

Petition and direct advocacy can produce real, tangible outcomes. Following 2023’s Converge gathering, the Baptist community welcomed the Federal Government’s imposition of sanctions on Myanmar’s military junta—who seized power after ousting the democratically elected government in 2021. As the Baptist family prepares for another Converge gathering this month in support of Australia’s homeless, we must remember that advocacy can have a powerful and lasting impact.

So we must not forget Myanmar. Baptist Churches WA joins its voice with its national partners including Australian Baptist Ministries, Baptist World Aid, Baptist Mission Australia and all of the Baptist state branches for Stand With Myanmar—a nation-wide call to action that all Australian Baptists can engage in. While this campaign is ongoing and you can get involved at any time, the target period will be from now until September 15 2024. During this time, you can show your support by taking any of the following actions;

By taking these steps, we push the government closer to considering the following outcomes

  • Further sanctions on industries that provide arms and supplies to the military junta.
  • Partnering with ASEAN to deny the junta’s attempts at legitimacy.
  • Condemning conscription in Myanmar.
  • Increasing humanitarian aid and visa obligations.

May the Baptist Churches help chart a way forward to help the Australian government act hand-in-hand with its brothers and sisters in Myanmar in the pursuit of peace and justice.

Advocacy for tangible outcomes. Australia for Myanmar. Let us stand—and act—together.

Author Theo Doraisamy is a member of the Baptist Advocacy Roundtable and the Pacific Australian Emerging Leaders Network, a joint initiative between Micah Australia and the Pacific Conference of Churches. He is a secondary teacher in his day job.

Sign up for Stand with Myanmar here.

Consent, Our Missional Gateway

Consent, Our Missional Gateway

Consent is the act of giving a free willed Yes to another’s proposal or desire. Often consent is discussed within the context of sex, and rightly so – it makes all the difference between something loving and assault. But for us Baptists, consent is key to life and mission.

Our movement was sparked out of our consent being violated. Mandates were put upon the early Baptists around baptism, governance, and worship. This led to early Baptists being exiled and developing in Amsterdam before returning to England and advocating for the freedom of local congregations.

We Do Baptism Differently
The vitality of consent is shown in our decision not to baptize infants, nor force baptism upon others. We do not violate the free choice of individuals, as it is impossible to coerce faith. Jesus stands at the door of our lives and knocks Rev 3:20 – he doesn’t kick it in. People must give informed and explicit consent – which is why the obvious questions are asked and answered immediately before each baptism. And so our movement is filled with individuals who want to be a part of God’s mission.

Consent in Evangelism
This understanding of church flows through to our outreach. We can and should be pro-active with warm invitation, but it must be without pressure, coercion or manipulation. We share the reasons we have for faith – but always with gentleness and respect.1 Pe 3:15 (What wonderful words in any conversation about consent.)

This is the power of holding the door open and welcoming people to meet God rather than demanding conformity. Even during the process of evangelism, it is both wise and a witness (in itself) to share a little and then ask whether our hearer/s would like to know more – rather than cramming as much in as we can until they make their escape.

Consent in Leadership
If we’re leading ministries, we need the same gentleness in inviting others to give of themselves wholeheartedly without manipulating them, granting them freedom to accept or refuse as they need. If we’re under leadership, it’s important to be able to state clearly what we’re willing and unwilling to do, for the good of both the ministry and ourselves as God’s image bearers.

It reflects the character of God when those with power give care and dignity to those weaker. Gentleness and patience open spaces for genuine response. Let’s keep working to respect and protect those with less power, ensuring they have space to advocate for their own desires, opportunities to speak their minds, and the chance to express their needs. 

What remarkable good news that the all-powerful God is so humble, gentle and patient. In all we do – and in the way we do it – may we point people to Him and the freedom of his kingdom – in contrast to our world that is so full of manipulation and control.

Author: Liam Conway is Associate Pastor at Riverlands, Longford.

Image: Pawel Czerwinski (Unsplash)


Thanks so much to all who have supported Crossover. Later-in-the-year contributions from churches and individuals are very welcome as an investment in Helping Australian Baptists Share Jesus. See crossover.org.au/offering

Homelessness Week 2024

Homelessness Week 2024

Baptist Advocacy Update August 2024

The world’s eyes are fixed on Paris – from the headline-grabbing opening ceremony to Australia’s growing medal tally, the Olympics continue to dominate our front pages and algorithms.

But as the world celebrates and cheers the Paris Olympics, homeless people are shifted off the streets by their government. Stability of those most vulnerable, including migrants and refugees sacrificed in the name of entertainment. Out of sight, and out of mind.

This is hardly a problem unique to Paris. The Olympics have a long, shameful history of excluding and evicting the homeless to keep up appearances and obscure the inequality and poverty that runs rampant in host cities.

From August 5-11, the nation observes National Homelessness Week – shining a light on those who are, or are at risk of homelessness and rough living. Let us embrace this opportunity to open our hearts, not harden them, and act to support those brothers and sisters of ours who are at risk of homelessness.

Let us turn our eyes to the Homeless this week.

Let us turn our eyes to the homeless, because Scripture calls us to act differently – as we are reminded in Deuteronomy 15:7-8 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.”

Let us turn our eyes to the homeless because the picture is devastating. In February, the Guardian published chilling details of a 12-month long investigation into homelessness. Few would argue that homelessness is easy, but even the most cynical person would find the details published shocking; a life expectancy of 30 years less than the average Australian. No demographic experiences a level of life expectancy gap in Australia of this severity.

Let us turn our eyes to the homeless, as homelessness has many forms, and comes from many causes. In particular, the insidious effect it has on those suffering from domestic violence is a dimension that is often overlooked. Consider also the effect homelessness has on entrenching disadvantage amongst First Nations Australians, who make up one fifth of all of Australia’s homeless population. One in seven children in this nation are homeless. Surely, we cannot ignore their plight.

As Christians we must challenge ourselves to not turn away, and to act in love.

Act Now

We can do this in a multitude of ways.

Please consider a financial contribution. Baptist Care Australia’s partner organisations provide crucial housing and support across the nation – please prayerfully consider donating to Baptist Care’s NSW, ACT and WA organisation here.

We also strongly encourage you to join the voices of those who are active in this space through petition. Baptist Care Australia is a proud member of the campaign Everybody’s Home. Partnering across the social services sector with organisations including the Salvation Army and Mission Australia, this is a powerful way we can advocate for specific, informed and direct policy change.

Please pray for us! Members of the Baptist family, and the Baptist Advocacy Roundtable will be heading to Canberra for Converge – our national advocacy initiative. As our Baptist family meets with MPs and Senators, please pray for wisdom, discernment, clarity, and most of all compassion and open hearts. Systemic policy change, including in public housing, will be necessary for short and long-term solutions to the housing crisis.

And of course, we would encourage all church pastors and leaders to share this with their Churches, especially as Homelessness Week approaches.

Real tangible action is needed – from individuals, organisations and government – and the church can speak into this area with power, clarity and strength.

After all, care for those in need are at the core of our faith.

As we turn our eyes to the most vulnerable in our nation, we honour our God and saviour.

Let’s not turn away this Homelessness Week.

 

Author Theo Doraisamy is a member of the Baptist Advocacy Roundtable and the Pacific Australian Emerging Leaders Network, a joint initiative between Micah Australia and the Pacific Conference of Churches. He is a secondary teacher in his day job.

Follow the work of Baptist Care Australia here,

Sign up for “Everybody’s Home” here

Route Options for Repenters

Route Options for Repenters

I find Jesus wonderful and endlessly fascinating, so when opportunities arise to talk about him, I’m rarely at a loss for material. But yacking on about Jesus is only one part of evangelism. There’s another part that comes less easily to me, and I think to many across our movement. In fact, if every Australian who speaks for Christ could get together for a seminar, I reckon we should spend at least half of it on this: Inviting a response.

The gospel is news, it’s an announcement to be proclaimed. But it’s news-with-personal-implications. It’s an invitation, it’s a proposal. So we not only seek to make plain the goodness of God, but also to offer steps of faith in response. Sacred agents are guides for others – not blind guides like some Pharisees, but ones who know the way to peace with God because we’ve taken it ourselves.

Inviting a response is not always about an alter call while Ira Sankey sings Beneath the Cross of Jesus. If a work colleague is curious about why you go to church, it may simply be ending your answer with, “Would you like to come along and see for yourself?”

One challenge with this, however, is figuring out what level of response your listener/s may be ready to make. You can ask questions, read body language and look for clues. But it can be hard to know. Is this person ready to repent, be baptised, and identify fully as a Christian? Or is their next step simply to pick up a Bible or come to Alpha or watch a clip online?

Thankfully, we don’t need to offer only one response. When Google Maps gives me directions to reigning-quiz-champions Knightsbridge Baptist, it gives me several route options. Here’s the best and most direct way, in bright blue. But here are other steps too that will ultimately get you there.

Being cautious, we often assume that people aren’t ready to go straight to the foot of the cross. But this can mean we offer people tiny, incremental steps that result in a circuitous and not-so-scenic route to peace with God. If we only offer small steps, it can even suggest that getting to God is like a long mountain climb, not a particularly helpful gospel image. It’s true many are not ready to go straight to Jesus, but they need to know that they can.

On the other hand, if we only offer giant steps, then the only alternative to a big Yes is a No. So why not give options? “If you want peace with God, you can have it today, you know. But if you just want to check it all out, why not come along to Alpha, or read John’s gospel?”
We may be surprised by some who are indeed ready for a big step of faith. And we may also be surprised by some whose small steps turn into big ones.

Author: Andrew Turner is Director of Crossover for Australian Baptist Ministries. 


Thanks so much to all who have supported Crossover through the Australian Baptist Easter Offering. End-of-financial year contributions from churches and individuals are very welcome as an investment in Helping Australian Baptists Share Jesus. See crossover.org.au/offering

Supporting the Supports

Supporting the Supports

One of the beautiful strengths of the Baptist movement is our conviction that all believers are priests. Within those four words are numerous deep truths around access to God through Christ, participation in mission and ministry, and responsibility in the church. Everyone has a part to play.

But they don’t play it equally. As in a Shakespeare, one actor has a hundred lines and another has two. One may play four different parts, another is simply a tree. Jesus’ parables of responsibility often feature uneven participation, too. One servant’s entrusted with ten talents, another five, and another one. So uneven participation is not surprising – even among those who’ve been given the same amount of lines or talents, some give everything they’ve got, and some don’t.

We Baptists rightly love our culture of volunteerism – no one is forced to give anything – it’s all given freely from the heart. This is lovely, but it can also have a shadow side.

SacAg129 image

There are some roles, like Treasurer or Worship Coordinator that are complex and involved and pretty much require a super-volunteer. But who has that much time to give? It’s the rich (who can live off reduced paid-work hours), the active-retired, the under-employed, uni students during summer, and those doing court-ordered community service. These are the ones who have the time to be pillars of your church. Not so much the single parent, the small business owner or the full-time worker. Now there are some beautiful saints among the former list. But the criteria you really want to be using for such important roles has more to do with spiritual maturity and gifted capability than simple availability.

So a church can look wider in its search for pillars, if it is willing to look for supports that need support. If your church pillar needs to be so strong they can stand alone, you’re building a culture of self-sufficiency and stoic independence – not conducive to healthy church community?

Staffing is not the only alternative to this. That single parent may be able to serve as a Worship Coordinator if the church provided them with some babysitting. For some roles the church may be able to provide an expense account, or pay for training, or carry some of the load in a hundred other possible ways.

It’s more complex than simply asking ‘Who has time to do X? Only Jenny? Well, Jenny it is then.’ It begins with asking ‘Who is God calling to this role?’ and then ‘How can we release them into it?’ It’s complex, but so it the body of Christ. Beautiful community is quite interdependent, and it is a witness in itself.   

Author: Andrew Turner is Director of Crossover for Australian Baptist Ministries. 

Photo by Diogo Nunes (Unsplash)

Thanks so much to all who have supported the Australian Baptist Easter Offering – which funds Crossover to Help Australian Baptists Share Jesus. It’s not too late to contribute if you haven’t.