Resources for Ministry

Documents Related to Clergy Placement in Connecticut


We welcome you to consider ministry within the American Baptist Churches of Connecticut. If you are interested in considering a pastoral call in Connecticut, we invite you to participate in the following process.

In order to have your profile activated in our search process, you will need to download the following list of items. Once you have filled out and signed the required information, please send them to our office in:

ABCCONN
90A North Main Street
West Hartford, CT, 06107

(If you are unable to download the forms, please call our office and we will send them to you.)


When we receive all of the information and completed a reference check, we will circulate your profile to appropriate search committees. We will continue to submit your profile for one year unless we hear from you. At the end of the year, if you have not been in contact with us we will drop your name from consideration. Please let us know if you have accepted a call elsewhere so that we will not waste your time or that of a search committee.

Current open positions are listed in the MOL. We ask that you not contact the churches directly, but feel free to contact the staff person listed. Should you have questions about any position or about the required information, feel free to call our office.

Documents Related to the Commission on the Ministry



All CT In-Care participants are required to attend the Center for Career Development and the Ministry

30 Milton Street - Suite 107

Dedham, MA 02026

Dr. Stephen Ott, Executive Director

Telephone: 781-329-2100; Fax: 781-407-0955

E-mail:ccdmin@aol.com; Website: www.ccdmin.org

Cost of 2-day Candidate for Ordination program is $1700. MMBB pays $1000. ABCCONN pays $275. We recommend that the local church pay $225. This leaves $200, plus travel, lodging and meals for the candidate to pay. (The Center may be able to provide a list of inexpensive places for lodging.)

Stewardship Resources


  • ABCUSA Stewardship Resources Page
  • Parish Publishing
  • Bill Keane, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Branford has written a short drama related to stewardship. Entitled "Smelling the Coffee," you can download it here.
  • Stewardship Sunday Resources - bulletin inserts, as well as other resources related to stewardship are available on the ABCUSA website. There are ideas for stewardship moments and for sermons, links to other helpful resources, and snippets related to stewardship for newsletters. Check it out here.
  • Stewardship Materials - New Love New Mercy (Lamentations 3:21-24) is the 2009 Stewardship Resource Material from the Ecumenical Stewardship Center. You can preview this material at www.stewardshipresources.org or a PDF file can be e-mailed to you (contact the ABCCONN offices - 860-521-5421). It may be ordered directly from Judson Customer Service 1-800-458-3766 (online ordering is not available).

ABC United Mission


Training Resources


There are a variety of training resources available from National Ministries of ABCUSA. These include workshops of discovering spiritual gifts, American Baptist heritage, and teaching the Bible to children, among many others. Some of the workshops are also available in Spanish.

National Ministries Training Resources

Training Workshops

Workshops at Yale — On Your Own Schedule. The Ministry Resource Center at Yale Divinity has many online workshops for congregation leaders and students including Drama, Continuing Conversation on Race, Climate Change, Sustainability Resources, Stewardship and more. You set the date and time “On Your Own Schedule” — Phone 203-432-5319 or e-mail ministry.resource.center@yale.edu.

Baptist History Coloring Books

Did you know that you can get children’s coloring books that depict our Baptist heritage from the American Baptist Historical Society? This might be a great project or gift for VBS. They are available from the American Baptist Historical Society.



Discipleship Partners



Discipleship Partners are available to help your church with issues of discipleship and education. More information.

Background Checks



Did you know: Our Ministers at Camp Wightman are willing to run your church’s background checks? They routinely conduct background checks for church child care workers and ABCCONN events. The background investigation form is available here. Just print it off, fill out and forward with $20 to David and Karen Warfield, Ministers of Camping and Conferences 207 Coat Pit Hill Rd., Griswold, CT 06351.

A Curriculum for Church Membership



A curriculum for adult church membership classes has been developed by Linda Isham for the Second Baptist Church of Suffield. The curriculum is now available for other churches to use.

The purposes of the four sessions are to acquaint prospective new members with the local church and the larger American Baptist family; to help them review their own spiritual journeys and gifts; and to find ways they can continue to grow in their Christian faith and participate in the life and mission of their congregation.

Church Membership Curriculum

A New Website Resource



A new site has been formed as a place where we can, together, shape our ministries in better ways in response to the serious harm being inflicted by the current crisis. It's important to read and share. We are just getting started so check back often. Check it out here.