FOR PASTORS

Accreditation

We are eager to identify and encourage women and men who are being called to be pastoral leaders in life, ministry, and mission of our church communities.

If you are exploring such a calling, the following information will provide some guidelines for discerning a way ahead to enter into that calling. While every person who explores with us is taken on an individual basis, there is a ‘base-line’ pathway that usually forms the framework for our exploration.

3 Phases of learning and development

1

Completion of a degree in Ministry or Theology

2

Progress through our Accredited Ministry Formation process

3

Continuing Accreditation

Start with a degree

Completion of a Bachelor of Ministry, Master of Divinity or equivalent is the usual, necessary foundation for ministry leadership in a Baptist church.

The following units of study are recommended:

Biblical studies
Including Old Testament and New Testament overviews, hermeneutics, and two exegesis subjects
Theology
Including an introductory subject, church history, and two further subjects
Ministry
Including preaching, leadership, a cultural awareness subject, a local mission subject, two pastoral care subjects and at least two semesters of Supervised Field Education

In South Australia, many of our candidates complete their degrees at either Tabor or Bible College SA.

Accredited Ministry Formation

This process gives attention to:

Head: A body of knowledge

Learning via formal courses (four post-graduate intensives taken for credit or audit), peer group, supervision and ministry experience.

Hands: Competencies

Ministry skills are developed with attention paid to 4 particular areas:

Pastoral care
Leadership
Communication/Self-leadership
Mission

Heart: Character and Spiritual Formation

Attention to the whole person, who you are and who you are becoming. This is about intentional formation via a range of means including Spiritual Direction, attention to spiritual disciplines, prayer retreats, theological reflection, exploration of character growth and emotional intelligence. Normally a candidate takes a minimum of two years to engage all the elements of this process satisfactorily.