About Us

Purpose

The SDB Council on Ministry was created to promote, educate and sustain the ordained ministry (pastors, church planters, missionaries and the diaconate) for the Seventh Day Baptist General Conference, USA and Canada, through the SDB School of Ministry and Pastoral Services.

School of Ministry

Recruitment. Seeks qualified candidates for ordained ministry and promotes these ministries as a calling.
Theological Education. Provides theological education to candidates for the ordained ministry through accredited seminaries; Summer Institute courses in SDB History, SDB Polity and Sabbath Theology ; theological education of missionaries in consultation with the SDB Missionary Society; ministry training for pastors and church planters not able to attend seminary.
Continuing Education. Promote and develop continuing education opportunities for Seventh Day Baptist pastors.

Pastoral Services

Encourage and Counsel. Encourage and counsel with pastors and churches in conflict.
Pastoral Search. Consult with churches needing pastors and pastors needing churches.
Ordination and Accreditation. Assist churches and pastors in the processes of ordination and accreditation.

Our History

Seventh Day Baptists originated in the protestant reformation of 17th century England. Immigrants to the Americas brought their faith with them and in 1671 the first SDB Church in the new world was formed at Newport, RI. Individual congregations associated with each other in yearly meetings and in 1802, the General Conference. As the United States of America grew, Seventh Day Baptists carried their faith with them as they participated in the westward migrations. They valued education and started academies in various places. Some of these grew to become colleges and universities.

In 1849 the Conference began the process of "establishment of a College and Theological Seminary."¹ The college at Alfred, New York, (now Alfred University) was the place chosen. It had been granted a university charter by the state of New York in 1857. Theology courses were offered at Alfred beginning in 1862. "In 1871 the theological department become a separate school within the university with power to grant the graduate degree of Bachelor of Divinity. The Alfred University School of Theology continued as the primary institution for the training of Seventh Day Baptist ministers for nearly a century until 1963 when requirements for academic accreditation in terms of student population and number and degrees of its faculty forced it to close. The following year a Center on Ministry was created to offer financial support and supplemental training for Seventh Day Baptist students attending other seminaries."²

¹Don A. Sanford, A Choosing People: the History of Seventh Day Baptists, (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1992), 211.

²Ibid 213-4.

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ATS Affiliate Status

The Seventh Day Baptist Center on Ministry's School of Ministry holds affiliate status with The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, but is not an accredited member of the Association.

Students participating in the Seminary Education Program of the COM must attend a seminary that is an ATS member.

Council on Ministry

The Council on Ministry is a six person Council elected by the SDB General Conference. Two Council members are elected each year for three year terms at the annual General Conference sessions. The Council on Ministry is responsible to the General Conference for the work of the Center on Ministry and has direct oversight of the Director of Pastoral Services/Dean of the School of Ministry.

Current Council on Ministry members are :

Rev. Kenneth Burdick, Chairman, Washington State, member since 2000

Mr. Gabriel Graffius, New Jersey, member since 2010

Mrs. Barbara Green, Wisconsin, member since 2005

Rev. Steven James, New York State, member since 2003

Rev. Matt Olson, New York State, member since 2011

Mrs. Patti Wethington, Michigan, member since 2010

COSAR

Historical Background      In the will of Mrs. Charles (Sarah P.) Potter, Jr., the Trustees of the Seventh Day Baptist Memorial Fund were bequeathed $1,000 in trust in 1903. The income from its investment was to be used at their discretion for support of "indigent and superannuated ministers of the Seventh Day Baptist denomination." On January 9, 1910, the Memorial Board voted to establish a formal "Ministerial Relief Fund" for retired ministers.
      The Seventh Day Baptist General Conference appointed a Committee on Ministerial Relief in 1928 to consist of "the General Secretary of Conference, the Executive Secretary of the Missionary Society, the Secretary of the Memorial Board, and two other members... for the aid of retired ministers and their dependents."
      In 1937 the name was changed to "Committee on Ministerial Retirement," and in 1975 General Conference voted to combine the committee with the Ministerial Support Committee, forming the Committee on Support and Retirement (COSAR).

COSAR Membership and Dues The Chairman and three members (one each year for three year terms) are elected by the General Conference. One is appointed by The SDB Memorial Fund Trustees, the Director of Pastoral Services serves as an ex-officio voting member; and boards and agencies of the General Conference with three (3) or more employees covered by the retirement plans may appoint a non-voting consultant.
The Committee on Support and Retirement (COSAR) has general oversight of the support and retirement for pastors, missionaries, and employees (ordained and unordained) of the churches and church-related agencies. To accomplish this purpose COSAR:
1. Administers the Seventh Day Baptist Retirement Plan (referred to as the "old plan") and provides retirement and survivor benefits for ministers, missionaries, and unordained employees of churches and church-related agencies who participate in the plan. This plan is now closed. No new persons will be admitted to this plan.
2. With a change in Federal rules for 403b retirement plans, effective January 1, 2009, COSAR put in place a new SDB Pastors Retirement Plan. This 403b retirement plan's payouts at retirement can be designated as 'Parsonage Allowance' for as long as the Pastor lives. The amount actually used to provide a home will be free from federal income tax. Designating an IRA as 'Parsonage Allowance' probably will not be possible at retirement. To participate, the employing church needs to adopt the Plan as a 'Participating Employer.' Click here to read the Plan Description; click here to read the entire Plan Document with 401k and Roth IRA amendments. You will need to enter the password to read the documents; if you have misplaced the password contact the Director of Pastoral Services.
3. The Committee on Support and Retirement (COSAR) of the SDB General Conference provides Long Term Disability Insurance for Pastors and Conference Workers who are employed at least 30 hours per week by their Church or Agency of the General Conference.
  If your Pastor meets the 30 hours per week threshold stated above please Click here to complete the information Form and return it by email attachment, Fax or mail so that our records may be brought up to date. If your Pastor is currently being covered by this insurance we need to have current information about the income you as a Church provide for your Pastor. Income from other sources cannot be insured by this disability policy. Any claim will be based on your information which we pass on to the insurance company.
4. Is alert to information and facts regarding salaries and allowances of pastors, sharing such with local churches, boards, agencies and General Conference. COSAR will counsel with them in matters relating to the support of their workers. Click here to see Guidelines for 2011 (opens in new window).

Director of Pastoral Services/Dean

The Director of Pastoral Services is also the Dean of the School of Ministry.

When the Alfred School of Theology closed in June 1963, a Center on Ministry was formed and was housed at the SDB Denominational building in Plainfield, NJ. The General Conference moved its offices from New Jersey to Wisconsin in 1981-1982. Deans through the years have been: