How’s your staff team? (Church Leadership and Teams)
We all have experiences of doing things with others. Sometimes teams are a joy, with the combined outcomes being greater than the sum of the individual parts. Sometimes teams can be difficult, with lots of time and energy being taken away from the activities and outcomes we are meant to be working towards. Team health […]
Guidelines for Churches Considering Sharing Premises
This document is provided as a way of exploring the possibility of sharing premises with another group / church. The BUV Church Health and Capacity Building Team is available to support churches to think through this option. Please click here to view or download the resource
From Surgery to Acupuncture: An Alternative Approach to Managing Church Conflict from An Asian American Perspective (Conflict Resolution)
One of the features of our BUV is our cultural diversity. We see this not only in the 70+ churches and congregations who have a primary language other than English, but in the growing range of ethnic backgrounds represented in most of our churches. This is a testimony to the global scope and hospitality of […]
Developing Role/Positions Descriptions – Paid or Volunteer
All churches have volunteer and sometimes paid leaders who take on governance or operational roles such as Eldership, Diaconate, Ministry Team Leaders. It is important that there are clearly expressed expectations about these roles – authority, responsibilities, accountability, etc. If your church is looking to advertise for the following positions but aren’t sure what a […]
Church Decline (Church Review Tools)
The BUV’s Church Health & Capacity Building Team is available to assist churches to assess and overcome the seeds of congregational decline. Please click here to view or download the resource
Annual Health Check up Tool
We recognise the value of regular check-ups in many areas of life (cars, gym, personal health, etc). These check-ups help us to see how things are going and to address minor issues before they escalate. They also encourage us to celebrate what’s going well. It is good for church leaders to review regularly how their […]
An Australian Baptist Response to POC Individual Accountability and Safety Agreements
From time to time you may face the situation where a person of concern has been worshipping and been involved, or wished to worship and be involved in your church. While demonstrating genuine compassion and justice you must take steps to protect the whole church community. This process aims to ensure that all reasonable measures […]
Code of Ethics & Companion Guide for Pastoral Leaders
The Code of Ethics for Pastoral Leaders aims to provide Pastoral Leaders (and their churches) with clear guidelines and common benchmarks for ethical conduct and legal responsibility. It is not intended to replace other official documents prepared by the BUV, but should be read in conjunction with them. They include: Doctrinal Statement of the BUV […]
Persons of Concern/Known offenders
A known offender is a person who is, or wants to be, part of your church community and who is known to have committed sexual abuse. This may be known through the individual admitting to church leadership a past sexual offense and/or leadership becoming aware of past or current convictions, allegations or investigations into sexual […]