Sarah is a member of Paeroa Baptist Church and is nominated by Bryce Millar.

I am a good fit for this role, as I bring a passion for and commitment to gospel renewal with people and places, which would further strengthen Assembly Council’s governance, to ensure the Baptist Union achieves this strategic goal.

Sarah is skilled at seeing needs, listening to possible solutions, and catalysing initiatives to bring transformation. She is committed to doing hard things for the sake of God’s kingdom coming more.

Sarah has some experience in NZ pastoral ministry, but more in cross cultural missions, as the co-founder of the Loyal Workshop in Kolkata as a missionary of NZBMS, and now on her return to NZ as a community working assisting schools and those in debt.

Sarah brings absolute compassion for the lost and the left behind, she brings ears that hear and eyes that see what Jesus is concerned about, and she brings the commitment to doing good and bringing justice however she can while bringing others on that journey to.

We absolutely need Sarah’s perspective and skill on Assembly Council, if the team is ready to hear what she is hearing.

Sarah is a gift to our community, and she has been and will continue to be a gift to the wider NZ Baptist family.

Get to know Sarah:

I bring a passion for gospel renewal for people and places in our local neighbourhoods. This passion drives me towards strategic, future-focussed and missional conversations and outcomes.

I have 16 years of missional experience in West Auckland, Kolkata India and Paeroa. I am currently working at Paeroa Community Support Trust, as a financial mentor, and as the project co-ordinator for research into chronic truancy and best response in the Hauraki district. This grass roots work, keeps me grounded in the everyday realities of regular whanau, their dream and challenges.

I am a trained Baptist Minister, with my registration being kept up to date until the end of 2022. I began post-graduate research at Carey Baptist College in 2022, on a conversation between a theological understanding of human flourishing, and a scientific understanding of trauma. I bring a trauma lens into everything that I do, which is important in our conversations about making our churches safe places.

I co-founded The Loyal Workshop, a social business that offers alternative employment to women trapped in the sex trade in Kolkata, India. I was a General Manager for 7 years and have been a Director for 9 years, thus bringing along with me leadership, management and governance experience.

In any team I work in, fostering relationships of trust is a strong value for me. This includes learning how to establish satefy, encourage clear communication and active listening, strong collaboration and support for one another.

I am an empathetic person and a good listener. I am also able to communicate when I have a different opionion to others, and am committed to healthy conflict resolution practises.