Jonny Weir is Director of Ministry Training at Carey Baptist College. This article is based on his discussion at the last Baptist National Hui in Palmerston North. Carey Baptist College is celebrating 100 years, with the official celebration event happening this coming weekend.
One hundred and one years ago, our Baptist forebears in Aotearoa New Zealand made a bold decision that would change the future of our movement. In October 1924, at what was then called Assembly, representatives from 60 churches—serving 8,621 Baptists—gathered with a shared conviction: we need our own training college.
In the century since, the Baptist movement has grown by around 300%, a remarkable testament to the long-term impact of that bold step of faith.
A bold vision in 1924
Back in 1924, Baptists faced a serious problem: there were no locally trained leaders. What few pastors they could find were mostly imported from England, and the process was, in their own words, “hit and miss” and couldn’t meet the needs of a growing union of churches. The Assembly dared to dream of something different—a New Zealand Baptist movement that would raise up its own leaders, shaped by its own story, grounded in its own identity.
As our first principal, JJ North, declared:
“Importing leaders from overseas will no longer meet the needs of the growing number of Baptist churches here in this land. We need a college that pulses with light and life and love… and it will be Baptist to the core.”
That vision birthed Carey Baptist College (then The New Zealand Baptist College).
Faith with no office chair
The beginning was anything but glamorous. In February 1925, the New Zealand Baptist newspaper reported:
“The New Zealand Baptist College at this point has no capital, no income, it does not possess so much as an office chair.”
There was no money, no buildings, no endowment and no staff team – only a conviction that God was calling this movement to raise up its own leaders for mission and ministry in Aotearoa.
From the beginning, the college was an act of faith. The founders chose to be a people who would invest in forming leaders shaped by the Baptist story, grounded in Baptist identity, and committed to Baptist mission. That early resolve – to be “Baptist to the core” while stepping out with almost no tangible resources – is part of the college’s founding DNA.
A new century, the same challenge
A hundred years on, the challenge facing New Zealand Baptists is strikingly similar. Our movement has grown, but at present we are simply not producing enough trained leaders for our churches to thrive in mission and maturity. As I write, 25 churches are searching for senior or sole pastors, and another 10 are seeking other ministry leaders. That’s 15% of our churches without the leadership they need—and the gap is growing.
After 12 years in this role, I’ll admit: this question of supply and demand has me beat. I don’t know the answer—except to say this: unless we rediscover that same vision, that same passion, that same willingness to act boldly even with “no money, no income, and no office chair,” we will struggle to meet the leadership needs of our movement.
What has changed at Carey?
In response, Carey has been working hard to keep leadership training both theologically robust and practically relevant. In recent years the programmes have become more structured and better tailored to the realities of contemporary ministry. While ministry itself keeps changing, the core of pastoral formation remains the same: Christlike character, courage, resilience, deep biblical literacy, and the practical leadership skills needed to shepherd communities.
There are encouraging signs. Today, at least 50% of our pastoral trainees are women—a dramatic shift from my first cohort 12 years ago, which had just one woman. The future of our movement will be shaped significantly by women leaders, and that excites me.
Our 2025 Year One cohort of 13 students is the most ethnically diverse Carey has ever had. The Lord is raising leaders from within our multicultural and migrant church communities who will powerfully influence our future.
New accessibility, new opportunities
Carey’s training model has also shifted geographically. No longer do students have to relocate to Auckland to access high-quality ministry training. With hybrid and regional approaches now embedded, around 70% of current pastoral trainees live outside Auckland, learning in their own churches and regions while still connected to the college. This decentralised approach allows people to remain in their communities, serving and learning in the very contexts they feel called to.
In 2026, we are piloting a one-year ministry training programme designed for more than just pastors—think youth workers, children’s leaders, volunteers, and church staff. If we can resource this well, in years to come, we could see multiple cohorts across the country, strengthening leadership at every level.
Sharing the Dream again
For this to work, Carey must stay deeply connected to our churches. We cannot be “that place in Auckland where a few people go to study.” We need to be embedded in everyday Baptist life, throughout the country—present, involved, and partnering in mission.
Imagine if this wasn’t just Carey’s dream, but our collective dream: that churches and college together would commit to having trained leaders for all Baptist congregations, for the sake of gospel renewal across Aotearoa New Zealand. This has always been the heart of the movement – a shared commitment to form leaders who are effective in mission and mature in Christ, and Baptist to the core!
The leaders are already among us
Here is my honest conviction: among our 240 churches, we already have the leaders we need!!
God has provided. Our task is to recognise them, call them out, support them, develop them, and release them into ministry. That’s not just Carey’s job—it’s the job of all of us. As Ephesians 4:12 reminds us: “to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”
Developing people is not an optional extra; it is at the very heart of church life.
A Hundred-Year Moment
2026 marks Carey’s 100th anniversary—a new season with a new principal, a new building, and a renewed strategic focus. This is a hundred-year moment. The question is: will we rise to it?
The shared vision that sparked a college in 1924 still matters today - that every Baptist church in Aotearoa would have the trained leaders they need to be effective in mission and mature in Christ.
Our movement depends on it.
Notes: Insights into the founding of the college gained from, "An Unfolding Story: a history of Carey Baptist College" by Martin Sutherland & Laurie Guy (2014).
Photo credit: The New Zealand Baptist, Issue 458. April 1926. Students at Inauguration of New Zealand Baptist College. From left: J. T. Crozier (Invercargill), E. W. G. Batts (Auckland Tabernacle), B. M. Wilson (Grange Road, Auckland). R. L. Fursdon (Morrinsville), Miss E. T. Gandy (Wellington), E. W. Grigg, M.A. (Ponsonby), V. E. Hudson (Palmerston North), B. N. Eade (Hawera), J. E. Simpson (Mount Eden). Sitting: Rev. W. S. Rollings (College Secretary). Mr F. N. Andrews (Chairman College Committee), Rev. J. J. North (College Principal).
