The State Convention as a Partner

Written by Lana Rose

“Our call is to support Church Staff Leaders throughout the discovery and fulfillment of their God-given mission.” This is the mission statement of the Church Staff Leadership Group of the Tennessee Baptist Convention. We see our role as helping church leaders discover their gifts and maximize those gifts in the roles to which they are called. In our ministry to church and associational ministry assistants/secretaries, this can be a challenge. Realizing they have limited time to be away from the office, our challenge is to provide training, fellowship, and networking opportunities that will maximize their time.

State Secretaries Conferences
Most state conventions are able to provide a state secretaries conference and Professional Certification and Ministry Skillshops. This is a great time for ministry assistants to come together to meet and learn from colleagues. These events offer professional training, skills development, and spiritual renewal. Participants have an opportunity to share with others in their chosen field and to realize that others share the same concerns, frustrations, and joys.

Professional Certification, a certification course sponsored by LifeWay Church Resources and hosted by a state convention or association, is a tremendous opportunity for church and associational ministry assistants/secretaries to receive training written specifically for Southern Baptist ministry assistants/secretaries, although other denominations are welcomed and invited to participate. In some states these are well attended, while others struggle to reach the number needed to host such an event.

Church Secretary Appreciation Day
“Y’all come” type meetings don’t always work these days. Though state secretaries conferences are wonderful, worthwhile events, the percentage of ministry assistants/secretaries attending these events is small. So what does a state convention do as it seeks to reach and minister to as many church and associational ministry assistants/secretaries as they can? Instead of asking them to come to us, we need to find ways to go to them.

One idea is an association-wide Church Secretary Appreciation Day. This is a win-win-win event for everyone involved—the state convention, the association, and the ministry assistants in the local churches. The idea is to provide a training/appreciation day cosponsored by the association and state convention. The association provides the publicity, registration process, conference place, breaks, and luncheon. The state convention provides the conference leaders for four conferences, conference materials, and gifts and door prizes.

The state convention wins because this event provides an opportunity to promote state ministries and resources and to express appreciation for the role of church ministry assistants.

In many situations ministry assistants have never been to the associational office. By hosting the event in their office, the association has an opportunity to share its ministry and to introduce ministry assistants to the office. The association expresses appreciation by hosting the event and providing the luncheon. Therefore, the association wins.

Ministry assistants win because they receive four hours of training they would not receive otherwise and do not have to travel far from home. Though this event was originally planned for small rural associations with mostly part-time or volunteer ministry assistants, larger associations have picked up on the idea and are offering it.

Here is a suggested agenda and suggested conferences for Church Secretary Day.

Church Secretary Appreciation Day is one idea that has been very successful in Tennessee. It has increased the awareness of the ministry of the ministry assistant/secretary on both the associational and state levels. It has given our associations and state convention the opportunity to say thank you to our ministry assistants/secretaries and also provide training. It truly has been a win-win-win situation for all of us. Available by calling 1-800-458-2772.  

Lana Rose is secretaries specialist at the Tennessee Baptist Convention, Brentwood, Tennessee.

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