Canadian Baptists of Western Canada is pleased to announce the temporary appointment of Dr. Gerry Fisher as the Interim Alberta Regional Minister.

Effective immediately. Dr. Fisher will serve as Alberta’s main regional contact for churches and pastors requiring assistance. He will also be responsible for the pastoral settlement portfolio, assisting all Canadian Baptist churches in all regions as they work through the process of seeking and hiring new pastoral staff. Dr. Fisher will serve in these capacities until the end of 2009. He is well suited for this interim position because he has served for many years as the Executive Minister of Canadian Baptists of Western Canada and has a long-standing and intimate knowledge of Canadian Baptist churches and their needs.

Previously, we announced that Rev. Dennis Stone has been appointed as the Alberta Regional Minister. This remains the case. Dr. Fisher is serving in an interim capacity until Rev. Stone completes his training and orientation. Rev. Stone starts with Canadian Baptists on October 15, 2009. Dr. Fisher and Rev. Stone will work together until the end of 2009. During that time, Dr. Fisher will be the primary contact for churches requiring spiritual and practical support or assistance with the settlement process during that time. Rev. Stone will become the primary contact in January 2010 once he has completed his training and orientation. This transitional process of training and orientation for new regional ministers is standard practice within the CBWC.

Together, Dr. Fisher and Rev. Stone replace Rev. Ken Nettleton, who has so ably served us as Interim Regional Minister since the spring of 2009. This fall, Rev. Nettleton accepted a position as lead pastor at First Baptist Church in Calgary. We are thankful for Ken’s outstanding work in this capacity and for his years of faithful and fruitful service as Director of Church Health.

We are grateful to Dr. Fisher for his willingness to serve Canadian Baptists as Interim Alberta Regional Minister and look forward to working with both him and Dennis Stone in the months ahead.