Interviewing a potential Pastor/Elder
Questions for Interviewing Pastoral Candidates
Calling a Pastor/Elder
Draft Letter of Call to assist churches with the administrative task of calling a pastor. This one document contains all four things; the letter of call, the list of duties, the contract and the declaration of faith and conduct. It is kept as a unit as it intended to be completed and signed as a single document.
Download the Declaration of Personal Faith and Conduct (pdf)
Inducting a Pastor/ Elder
Download the recommended ‘Ordination Questions’ to be posed to a pastor or elder at their induction service. This has been adapted to suit our southern African context from Thabiti Anyabwile’s excellent book on eldership entitled ‘Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons’ available here.
Appointing a Moderator (an external temporary elder)
Scripture consistently teaches that there should be a plural number of elders for each church (Tit 1:5; Acts 14:23; Acts 20:17; 1 Tim 4:14; Jas 5:14; 1Pet 5:1; 1Pet 5:5). A pastor/elder is not meant to serve alone in this role. But, there are times when a church lacks a plurality (two or more) of elders. In such cases, it is wise to request the assistance of churches in the area to send an elder to assist. There may also be other respected previous pastors who may be available to assist a congregation. While it is our understanding that its always best to ‘grow your own elders’ rather than ‘import an elder,’ there are times when good elder material is not readily available. Thus, our understanding of a moderator is an external, temporary, elder. That is, he would serve as an elder alongside the pastor until such time as the congregation was able to appoint a plurality or elders from their own number (this being part of the task of the moderator). Once a polarity has been found, the induction service of the elder (making an internal plurality of elders), is the moderator’s last task and his contract should terminate. For help with this, download the Guide for Moderators and Churches Seeking Moderators
Church
Download the membership application form to apply for fellowship/membership with us.
Teach Baptist Principles by Powerpoint (pptx file)
Download the Baptist Principles Handout (pdf)
Read Baptists and Church Governance
On 20 February 2017 delegates from a number of BNA churches met at Constantia Park Baptist Church and held a consultation asking probing questions regarding concerns and structure of the Baptist Union and Baptist Northern Association. Here is a Powerpoint of the Results of Consultation
On Monday 18 November 2019, the churches were handed this document in order to assist them in deciding the way ahead for the BNA in terms of becoming a network of the Union or not.
