Who do congregations call when they have a problem, need assistance, or are seeking information? Regional staff, of course. Highly trained and deeply motivated, the 14 regional staff across the country encounter little they aren't capable of tackling. “I offer support, workshops, resource material and consultations among congregations and presbyteries in matters such as strategic planning, natural church development, elders, congregational and pastoral care, conflict resolution, evangelism and mission outreach, and session and presbytery retreats,” said Wayne Stretch, regional minister with the Synod of B.C. “I also support and encourage new church development and renewing church strategies, and offer pastoral care and support to clergy and other church professionals within the synod.”
Though individual portfolios vary, regional staff — who are hired and fully supervised by synods — do all this plus support work with children and youth, help out with general Christian education (including mission education) and assist with camping ministries.
“I felt called to youth ministry long before I knew such a thing even existed in our denomination,” said Audrey Cameron, currently the camping and youth consultant for the Synod of the Atlantic Provinces. “In the Atlantic Provinces, there were not a lot of multi-staffed churches, let alone ones that employed someone to do only youth. I still cannot get my head around the fact that the synod took a chance with me. I am grateful!”
Cameron was chosen to be the guinea pig in a pilot project agreed upon by General Assembly back in 1986. Her then-titled synod youth director position was the catalyst for creating regional staff positions as they exist today.
But challenges exist. While the Life and Mission Agency and the Women's Mission Society contribute much of the budget, if synods decide they need more staff than what is agreed upon at the national level, the synod is responsible for funding the extra body. (Staff are allocated by the size and number of the churches within the synods, not by the size of the synods themselves). Furthermore, geographically large synods are often strapped because they receive the same travel allocations as a synod with congregations very close together.
And although regional staff have been around for more than a decade, some congregations still don't know they exist. (All synods have regional staff, though Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario currently sit vacant).
Kathy Ball, educational ministries coordinator with the Synod of B.C, said her portfolio covers congregational education as well as WMS initiatives, PYPS, and anything else that congregations request.
Ball said she hopes congregations know she and other regional staff are available for consultation, and to serve and support their work. “But part of the challenge is that people presume we will be too busy to work with them so they don't ask,” said Ball.
Lynda Reid, education consultant for the Synod of Central, Northeastern Ontario & Bermuda for 20 years, agrees. “As the work of synod staff has evolved, I think the majority of congregations are now much more aware of their workers and how they can assist the wider ministry of the church. That said, there are exceptions. In a large synod like CNOB with more than 280 congregations, not all those who need the help of a synod staff person get it because they don't know we exist! That is still a frustration.”
Regional staff, in their current form, didn't exist until 1995 when General Assembly decided to support the new model. Prior to this, various national bodies (including the WMS and the Atlantic Mission Society) employed and directed people to handle specific regional tasks. But by shifting responsibility to synods, staff could set their own directions and became tuned into the needs of their congregations.
“I think the synods wanted to have more say, and they wanted to experiment with them reaching into different ministry areas,” said Reid. “But it can be difficult because each synod works independently and some of the synods have really struggled to keep staff in place. It also took a long time for some synods to decide on their specific needs.”
Despite challenges, it's clear that ministers, lay leaders, committee workers, and presbyters can benefit from regional staff. “I've observed congregations consistently struggling with too few workers and too much to do,” Ball said, when asked if she notices any consistent struggles among congregations.
But helping to relieve some of the pressure is exactly what regional staff can do.
“It's great for each synod to decide where they need to focus their staffing resources,” said cameron. “It makes sense since our synods are so different in terms of needs, size and resources.”
