The National Leader of the Baptist Churches of New Zealand is formally an Officer of the Baptist Union and is elected by Assembly on four-year, then three-year terms as recommended by Assembly Council.

This role oversees the strategic and spiritual wellbeing of the collective of 250 faith communities, along with their leadership team and the regional Association Chairs. The vision and direction of our movement of churches is shaped and guided by the National Leader who accounts to Assembly Council.

Kia ora

I love Jesus. I love the Bible. I love the Gospel. I love the Church. And I love Mission.

My number one task is to keep the eyes of New Zealand Baptist’s firmly fixed on Jesus. It is his words that we must listen to the most. He will show us what our priorities must be. How to treat one another. How to live in our neighbourhoods. It is the power of his Gospel that will bring renewal to people and places.

While my leadership philosophy comes from the Bible verse, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love”, I have been mostly shaped in my own leadership by people with severe intellectual and physical disability. My daughter was born with inoperable brain cancer. Despite living until she was 13 her life was marked out by much suffering. And my 28-year-old son lives with the cognitive abilities of a 9-month-old baby.

Prior to becoming National Leader I spent 13 years on the staff at Carey Baptist College, 8 of these as Principal.