Not only is the loss of a minister acutely felt in the community but the tasks carried out by a minister leaves a significant gap.

‘Settlement’ (the word we use for looking for a new minister) is a key activity for London Baptists.  We provide support and guidance throughout the process.  When your minister or pastor has announced his or her departure, usually a Regional Minister will meet with the Deacons or Leadership Team of the church.  We assist in the appointment of a moderator (a temporary, voluntary advisor) and offer guidance on what kinds of issues require addressing in this process.

If your minister is in the process of leaving their role, please get in touch with your Regional Minister, who will introduce you to the Settlement process and will offer guidance and assistance throughout the process. We ask churches in settlement to keep their Regional Minister informed throughout the process so that we can help oversee and guide the process as best we can to ensure that you are able to move forward in ministry.

Resources for Settlement

Baptists Together offers a number of resources that will help you through the period without a minister (the interregnum) and to help guide you as you enter the search process. You can find these resources here

Women in Ministry

As part of the London Baptists response to Project Violet , a collaborative research project looking at the experiences of Baptist women ministers, we are committed to actively investing in settlement to help make women ministers experiences better. As part of this commitment we have developed some resources which we hope you find useful. These resources reflect the BUGB and London Baptists stance (and the stance of the significant majority of our churches) that gender is no bar to any ministerial or leadership role. When you go into the settlement system, you are likely to have applications from both women and men.

These resources are written for churches preparing for or in settlement to help them to consider their own theology on women in ministry and how to approach settlement in a way that is equal and fair to both men and women. If you are in or entering settlement, or considering doing so in the future we would encourage you to explore these resources.

There are three resources available - a guide for churches in settlement including an egalitarian Biblical argument for women in ministry, a sermon series that accompanies this and a guide to church meetings as you explore the kind of minister you feel is right for your church (this could be used for any issues in settlement where there may be different views within the church). You can find these resources here