Alabama Baptist ministry assistants meet at Judson

Some 175 church secretaries gathered at Judson College for the 43rd Annual Conference of the Alabama Association of Baptist Secretaries April 24-27, although “church secretary” is a term the group hopes gives way.
  
“The denomination certification program we follow calls secretaries ‘ministry assistants,’ and our Alabama program does too,” explained out-going President Sue Martin. 
   
“This is a new way of looking at our work and it’s a much better title,” Martin explained. “The secretary is a minister of the church too. She most often is the ‘first face’ people see when they come to the church and her job is one of helping the congregation fulfill its purpose.”
   
And not all of the attendees are Baptists, Martin said. Secretaries from other denominations are welcomed to the yearly gathering.
   
Martin is ministry assistant at Walker Baptist Association in Jasper. 
   
She said she was looking forward to turning over the gavel to new President Jo Anne Turner of First Baptist Church, Prattville, at the conclusion of the conference. 
   
Twenty breakout sessions were offered this year for conference participants, including computer how-to programs like PowerPoint, Excel and Publisher. 
   
Another conference, called “Good ’n Mad,” was directed by Dale Huff, director of the office of LeaderCare and church administration for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. 
   
Huff said he wanted to help those in attendance learn that anger is natural and can lead to constructive action rather than to destruction. 
   
“Safety, Self-Awareness and Self Defense” was a new class this year taught by Pastor Eric Jackson of Bethel Baptist Church, Fort Deposit. Jackson is a former Mobile police officer.
   
Conference participants also had opportunity to attend the professional-certification track taught by Jane Barrett, church administrator of Mt. Hebron West Baptist Church in Elmore. Barrett has been a professional-certification instructor for more than 10 years.
   
“We plan conferences that are helpful for secretaries,” Martin said. “The leaders are members of our churches, too, and they’re sympathetic to our mission. 
   
“Our conference is also a time of collegiality, something like a giant ‘sleep-over,’” she said. “Ladies congregate in the dorms and hallways and talk about how they do things in their church and what’s worked for them.”
   
In addition to the breakout sessions, the ministry assistants attended daily worship sessions led by Rose Anne Coleman of Nashville; Lucky Teague, director of missions for Walker Association and musician Laurie Brasher of Pell City.
   
Martin said she hoped the participants returned home physically and spiritually refreshed and better equipped for ministry. (JC)