Tar Heel Leadership is a series of one-day seminar’s to train, encourage, and equip pastors for greater effectiveness in life and leadership in the local church. This ministry was established in 1997 by Dr. Mark Corts, the long-time pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem. This ministry now based in Clemmons, NC and led by Dr. Steve Corts, pastor of Center Grove Baptist Church in Clemmons, NC, works in partnership with the Baptist State Convention of North of North Carolina. This is currently the most effective pastoral training opportunity in our state. You can learn more about this ministry at www.tarheelleadership.com.
God has opened the door for our association to serve as an Eastern NC satellite virtual campus for this ministry. Last year 5 NRBA pastors were willing to drive to Clemmons one a month to participate in this training. They were Dr. C.J. Cauble, Southside; Rev. Travis Crocker, Rock Creek; Rev. Paul Spradley, First, Scotland Neck; Rev. Dathan Hall, First, Roanoke Rapids; and Rev. Clay Leonard, Momeyer. Because of the pandemic, the 2020 participants had to participate virtually. As a result, it was discovered that this training can be successfully accomplished online and we now have a group of Eastern NC pastors meeting at the association office the first Thursday of each month. NRBA church pastors joining in this new endeavor for 2021 are Dr. Chris Aiken, Englewood; Rev. Andy Sloan, Calvary, Roanoke Rapids; Rev. Eric Bass, Gaston; and Seth Taylor, Asso. Pastor, Northside.
Practical topics include Visionary Leadership, Strategic Planning, Discipleship, Prayer and Spiritual Welfare, Conflict Management, Building Strong Leadership Teams, Leading Change, and much more. In addition to the classes, each participant has the support of a personal ministry coach to discuss current ministry issues in their ministry. Rev. Dathan Hall and Rev. Clay Leonard are serving as facilitators for the seminars by operating the tech equipment and coordinating our local online group schedule with the Clemmons campus. Rev. Bill Grisham is also providing valuable support by assisting with the coaching component of this ministry. The Church Life Team is excited about this opportunity and hopes that many of our association pastors will take advantage of this training.