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ABA Ministries Report



In recognition (and celebration) that the work of the Kingdom happens within the context of the local church, the mission of the Alberta Baptist Association is…


To connect and to resource churches to impact communities for the growth and advancement of the Kingdom of God in Alberta and the world.


Given this stated (and historical) purpose, the ABA has clarified that the best way to accomplish its mission is to invest in the development of godly servants (within and among the local ABA churches) who will lead the way.


To say it most succinctly…

‘The ABA vision is to develop Kingdom leaders’


To outline its parameters…

‘The vision of the ABA is to develop ‘Kingdom’ leaders’... (who are)

  • Emerging leaders

  • Lay leaders

  • Pastoral leaders


To elaborate its focus…

‘The vision of the ABA is to ‘develop’ Kingdom leaders’… (by)

Identifying leaders

  • Praying for (potential) leaders

  • Challenging (potential) leaders

  • Recruiting (potential) leaders

Training leaders

  • Equipping Leaders

  • Resourcing Leaders

  • Mentoring/Interning Leaders

Deploying Leaders

  • Empowering Leaders

  • Encouraging Leaders

  • Monitoring Leaders

  • Protecting Leaders

  • Renewing Leaders


All of this is to say that ‘leader development’ has become the essential ‘plumb line’ by which we will measure the legitimacy and the direction, as well as the efficacy, of all ABA ministries, guiding us in terms of how we use the generous contributions from local ABA churches.


To that end, employing the ‘three-fold’ leader framework (emerging, lay, pastoral) is helping to provide balance in terms of leader development among the many ABA ministries. In this, some new leader development initiatives (in italics) have more recently been engaged.


ABA Emerging Leader Ministries

  • Student Ministry Retreats

  • Young Adult Retreats

  • Potential ‘Gap’ Year Feasibility Study


ABA Lay Leader Ministries

  • Women’s Retreats

  • Men’s Retreats

  • German Ministry Retreats

  • ReNew Events (for pastors & lay leaders)

  • Youth Ministry Workers Retreat (in conjunction with the Youth Pastors Retreat)

  • Board Chair (online) Quarterly Events


ABA Pastoral Leader Ministries

  • Ministry Workers Family Retreat

  • Youth Pastors Retreat

  • Banff Pastors Conference

  • Retired Ministry Workers Events

  • Pastors’ Connections

  • Touching Base (online) Monthly Events

  • ReNew Events (for pastors & lay leaders)


ABA Leadership Care Ministries

Some of the less visible, though very important (and very involved) aspects of ‘leader development’ unfold within the context of ABA Leadership Care.


Care for Pastors

  • Shepherding Pastoral Health and Concerns

  • Pastoral Crisis Mitigation

  • Conflict Resolution

  • Health & Benefits Matters

  • Sabbatical Preparations

  • Processing Ordinations & Licensure

  • Staff Performance Reviews


Care for Church Boards

  • Shepherding Lay Leader Concerns

  • Board Crisis Mitigation

  • Conflict Resolution

  • Church Transitional Ministries

  • Church Pastor Search Processes

  • Church Assessments


ABA Team Ministries

‘Leader development’ is being introduced as a primary (though not exclusive) question concerning the prayerful, strategic thinking within each of the ABA teams.

  • LC - Leadership Council

  • SMR Team - Student Ministry Resource Team

  • GO Team - Global Operations Team

  • CP Team - Church Planting Team

  • CPR Team - Crisis Prevention and Restoration Team

  • EL Team - Emerging Leader Team


ABA Church Multiplication Ministries

  • Leader Development Funding For ABA Multiplication Ministries


ABA Partner Ministries

‘Leader Development’ has become helpful for enhancing the rich, ongoing relationships with the various ABA partners.


NAB conference ministries (emerging, lay, pastoral)


Camp ministries (emerging)

  • Camp Caroline

  • Pine Lake

  • Sturgeon Lake

Educational Ministries (emerging & pastoral)

  • Taylor

  • Prairie

People Support Ministries

  • The Mustard Seed (lay & pastoral)

  • Salem Manor (lay)

  • South Country Village (lay)

  • Resiliency Ministries, Canada (pastoral)


On behalf of the ABA Regional Office and ABA Leadership Council, I want to share my deepest appreciation for your ongoing commitment to facilitate the development of Kingdom leaders in and among the 60 churches of the ABA.



Together with you, in His service!

Terry Fossen.


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