Baptist News Global has joined four other Baptist organizations in a clergy-support initiative called Respite for Revs.
Leaders of the five well-known entities are offering their services at no charge to fill in for pastors who need to take an extra week off due to the stresses of the pandemic. The idea is simple: Churches are invited to provide their ministers an extra week off from preaching or teaching, and a staff member from one of the five organizations will preach or teach in their place at no cost to the congregation.
The idea was conceived by Mitch Randall, who leads Good Faith Media. He enlisted the help of Amanda Tyler and her staff at Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, Meredith Stone at Baptist Women in Ministry, David and Colleen Burroughs at Passport Inc., and Mark Wingfield at BNG.
All five organizations are led by individuals with pastoral or church staff experience who are passionate about the work of the local church.
The offer extends not just to Sunday morning preaching but also to leading Sunday or mid-week Bible studies for adults, youth or children. Passport also will consider requests to provide a worship or music minister with a Sunday of relief.
Respite for Revs will extend through Eastertide 2022. Services provided could be in-person or virtual, depending on context and need.
Clergy or lay leaders who would like to secure Respite for Revs help are invited to contact any of the five participating organizations directly through the following email contacts:
- BJC: Christine Rigodon
- Baptist News Global: Mark Wingfield
- Baptist Women in Ministry: Meredith Stone
- Good Faith Media: Autumn Lockett
- Passport: David Burroughs or Colleen Burroughs.
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