Leadership and Professional Development

Leadership and Professional Development is a new department at the Division. It was established during the 2005 SPD Session.

The aim of the department is to identify, grow and nurture leaders in different fields of the church. A current focus of the department is to grow the leadership in the islands of the South Pacific.

“Previously, leadership had just arisen, instead of being intentionally identified and nurtured. With the establishment of this new department, we hope to be able to seriously look at developing new leaders and the leadership ability of those who work for the church now.”

Upcoming plans:

Three leadership cohorts in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Fiji will be identified and trained.  This will be an ongoing process.

A Christian Leadership Centre will also be established at the SPD office in Wahroonga where it will work in cooperation with other Adventist institutions to offer resources and training for current leaders.

“This is a totally new approach towards leadership within the church and there will be challenges. The basic psyche of the church will be changed as we begin the concept of grooming leadership instead of solely relying on a system where people are called into leadership positions.”

The benefit of the new system will mean “higher levels of proficiency and leaders who are aware of their strengths and weaknesses, working to enhance their leadership skills and ability.”

The Leadership and Professional Development department will have input into leadership in every area of the church, including anything from pastoral and financial to administrative positions.