RICHMOND — North Carolina pastor Charity Roberson has been tapped to lead a new Virginia Baptist initiative developing learning communities aimed at identifying and training potential church leaders among students of all ages.
Roberson, pastor of Sharon Baptist Church in Smithfield, N.C., and a former campus minister, assumes her role as learning communities/equipping coach March 1. The newly-created initiative, developed by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board’s
emerging leaders team, will be based in Richmond.
Charity Roberson
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“The learning communities will raise up emerging leaders by bringing together groups of people around a variety of skills and commonalities,” said Susan McBride, team leader of the emerging leaders team.
Instead of “experts” instructing novices in ministry skills, the communities will develop and expand areas of competency among Virginia Baptists by encouraging peers to learn from the experiences of others who share their interests and calling, McBride said. Communities will be characterized by “people of similar style, function and passion [coming] together to expand their knowledge about identifying, developing and equipping emerging leaders toward a missional and Christian lifestyle,” according to the Mission Board’s description of the project.
That’s a change from the compartmentalized age-based pattern of resourcing employed by the Mission Board in the past, said McBride.
“The learning communities/equipping coach will be defined by an ability to build community, not so much by an area of expertise,” she said. “It’s a whole new philosophy of equipping leaders.”
In her new role, Roberson will work closely with other Mission Board staff members, including the emerging leaders team’s Kairos Initiative, a “revisioning” of collegiate ministry which aims to dramatically expand Christian outreach among young adults in Virginia.
Roberson has been pastor of Sharon since April 2012. For almost 10 years prior to that she was a Baptist campus minister in the Raleigh area, based at North Carolina State University. She has been an adjunct professor at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C., and served on the board of North Carolina Baptist Women in Ministry. She also is a certified life coach, offering consultation through the Center for Congregational Health in Winston-Salem.
Roberson is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and holds a master of divinity degree from the Campbell University Divinity School. She’ll complete a doctor of ministry degree at the divinity school this year.
“Charity will enhance our goal of seeing where God is at work and bringing people on a journey together to participate in God’s mission,” said McBride.
Robert Dilday (rdilday@religiousherald.org) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.