Local Baptist churches operate as independant congregations, bound together in covenant partnership. Our NWBA team seeks to support churches directly and also enable and co-ordinate their working alongside one another. We focus and explain our work around 5 key interventions which can be a useful way for churches to access support and partnership. We represent these as overlapping circles, as none are completely exclusive of the others and the resources and initiatives that they represent can often work together.

As a Baptist community we remain committed to recognising and supporting women and men as ordained ministers and recognised pastoral leaders. We work to support local ministers, help churches seeking to appoint ministers and provide opportunities for those who are exploring a call to ministry to access our Baptist colleges and formation tracks. In many cases, the church minister will be the key point of contact with our NWBA community.

Crucial to the life of any local church is an effective team of local leaders, in some situations fulfilling roles that would otherwise be done by an ordained minister. We support local leaders through a variety of training and development opportunities, offering one to one and group support when this is requested.'

We seek to complement our direct support to leaders with a range of church-life resources. These include online reflections, sermons and worship resources, training and workshop events and leading away days, church services and other events. Our team can also help access specialist support from our national teams based at Baptist House in Didcot.

OUr NWBA team is small in number, supplemented by voluteers who offer their support in a variety of ways. However, sometimes churches are best supported through direct partnership with other congregations. This might be through sharing a minister, providing practical support to a pioneer, giving regular financial support or through a more formal expression of partnership. Our NWBA team can help in forging links with other churches and mission initiatives.

We live in changing times, and local congregations often find themselves having to adapt to new realities. This might be exploring new patterns of ministry, re-thinking how buildings are used and sustained or exploring new expressions of mission and outreach. WHile our resources can serve a variety of contexts, we can also support churches through the process of change that this might entail.