Nurturing Christ-like leaders and thriving faith communities
by Grant Harris
Nearly 100 years ago, our family of churches established Carey Baptist College to “train men and women for gospel ministry at home and abroad.” The Baptist churches of New Zealand did this to recognise that faithful and fruitful gospel ministry requires leaders who have been trained for that ministry. Carey’s calling is to provide that training. We serve Baptist churches by equipping Christian leaders for ministry in the church and mission to the wider community. This is how we might express it:
Carey exists to form Christian leaders who, by the Spirit’s power, will equip God’s people for the work of ministry, and engage in God’s mission of renewing this world.
By “Christian leaders,” we mean a broad category of people, from pastoral leaders to ministry leaders to mission leaders to community leaders to thought leaders – all those among the people of God who have been equipped with the biblical and theological resources to bring gospel renewal wherever the Spirit leads them.
Over the decades, how we live out that calling has had to change. Profound shifts have occurred in New Zealand society, the New Zealand church, and the world of tertiary education in the last few years. These changes call for a fresh and significant reassessment of our strategic priorities. In response to these changes, the college conducted an extensive strategic review in 2023/24. The overarching question we aimed to answer in this process was: “How can Carey nurture Christ-like leaders and thriving faith communities who will engage in gospel renewal among people and places in Aotearoa and beyond?”
After considerable research, prayer and interviews (involving over 60 people), we developed a Strategic Plan that traces the contours of our present and future context and articulates the commitments that shape Carey as a theological college. It expresses our aspirational vision for the next ten years and outlines six strategic priorities that will guide and focus our energies as we seek, under God’s gracious hand, to see this vision become a reality.
Click here to see a summarised version of our Strategic Plan 2033. If you are interested in seeing a fuller version or want to chat about how you can be involved in supporting our goals, please contact our Executive Director Chris Berry
Grant Harris is the Executive Chair of the Carey Baptist College Board, as well as the Lead Pastor at Windsor Park Baptist Church in Auckland.
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