Christine Stride is Executive Assistant to the Baptist National Leader and works at the Baptist National Support Centre in Auckland. She is a member of Titirangi Baptist Church in Auckland.
Congratulations to Brian Smellie, who was voted in as vice president of the Baptist Union of New Zealand.
Brian will spend a year in the role and will then serve as president of the Baptist Union in 2026, at the end of current president Allan Taylor’s tenure.
The president and vice president represent our movement’s churches in meetings of national significance.
Both sit on the National Council and Mission Council, and much of their time is spent engaging with and visiting local Baptist churches.
The president presides over all business sessions of our annual national Hui and takes on various roles during the year according to their skills and experience.
Submissions of possible candidates for the office of vice president are made by local churches to the National Council, which then makes a formal nomination to National Hui for election.
Brian was elected by the Baptist Union (all 240 local Baptist churches being able to participate in a vote by 4 April) after being nominated for the role by Epuni Baptist Church pastor Michael Krausse.
Throughout their lives, Brian and his wife Shona have been continuously active in church membership and leadership. They are currently members of Riccarton Baptist Church.
Read more about vice president Brian Smellie here
Read more about the role of president here
Photo: Supplied
