Alan is the General Director of Arotahi/NZBMS (New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society), the missionary society of the Baptist Churches of New Zealand.
Being the General Director of Arotahi is the best job you can have across our whole Baptist movement! Over my years in this role, I have woken up every day keen to go to work.
We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before.
I’ve had the privilege of working with a wise and committed Mission Council (the Arotahi governance board), and exceptional staff, both in NZ and overseas. Together, we all stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before, and the amazing work in God’s kingdom that Arotahi has been part of over the last 140 years.
Work like:
- over 100,000 church members in the 1000-plus Baptist churches of Tripura.
- the extensive work with the Bangladesh Baptists in schools, a hospital, and development programmes like the five-year ‘Empower Her’ work in two districts in northern Bangladesh. This new programme works to give governance, leadership, educational, and vocational skills to isolated and poor village women.
- training pastors and supporting churches and leaders.
- partnering with the pioneering work of Love Calcutta Arts, The Loyal Workshop, and Joyya. At a time when wholistic mission is seen as the gold standard, Joyya is perhaps the most wholistic mission endeavour globally. It is both innovative and prophetic.
- the work our people do in friendship evangelism, supporting theological training, small businesses, or preserving the original writings and work of people like William Carey.
- partnering with Village Baptist Church and the work of ASHA churches in India.
- our work in Thailand and China
- Mahi Pai projects by Māori, for Māori.
The list goes on.
Working Together as Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti.
I've worked with the most amazing Māori leaders and have learnt so much about Te Tiriti, and the influential foundation we have in working together as Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti. This is such a unique gift that we are invited to bring into our life locally and globally.
A timely ending
In November I will have completed an initial four-year term and a subsequent three-year term.
By then, I’ll be sixty-five, and while I really don’t want to leave, I need to hold true to my conviction that my generation of old white men step out of the way and let new leaders take over. My generation has been notoriously poor at ending in timely and grace-filled ways, and while I may not be grace-filled, I can at least be timely.
Looking ahead
Mission Council has a transition plan in place and hopes to bring the name of a prospective new General Director to National Hui in November, to be ratified by delegates. You can expect to hear more from the Mission Council Search Committee in the coming weeks and months.
22 May 2026 update: Mission Council have made public the search process, including a listening phase and survey - full details: baptist.nz/arotahi-general-director-appointment
Image: Supplied
