Three Questions is a semi-regular series introducing individuals across the NAB by asking them about their story, their ministry, and what they are learning. These features on members of our NAB family also provide great opportunities to pray for them as we get to know more of their story. This week, we hear from Reid Kisling, the new CFO and VP of Ministry Support for the North American Baptist Conference.
What’s your story?
My name is Reid Kisling. I’m the NAB’s Chief Financial Officer and VP of Ministry Support. My wife Carrie and I have been married for thirty-three years and have four adult children.
Carrie has been the quiet backbone of everything we’ve built together. While I’ve carried various leadership roles in theological education and pastoral ministry over the years, she has been consistently shaping and forming our kids in faith, and she continues to pour that same love into her work with college students in disability services at George Fox University. Her steadiness and faithful support have enabled me to grow in ways I couldn’t have otherwise. I’m genuinely grateful for her.
I was one of the founding elders at our church re-plant, Hope Fellowship, an NAB church in Hillsboro, Oregon, and that community has been home to us for ten years now. One of the things I’m most excited about in this new role is that it will allow Carrie and me to engage in ministry together in ways my previous work didn’t make possible. We’re looking forward to that chapter.
What’s ministry like for you? What drew you to this role in the NAB?
Honestly, the story of how I got here is the most compelling part. . . .
The Year of Equipping is composed of three modules, each three months long and including a reading pertaining to the subject matter, two two-hour Zoom discussions, and an in-person meeting. The three modules reflect the three teaching sessions in Blue Ocean: who God is and what he is up to, spiritual formation and how we are being re-formed in God’s image as we join him on his mission, and how Christian community flows from the first two.
We are entering Year 3 of the Year of Equipping, and we have seen God do amazing things! Our alumni from our first two cohorts have testified to great experiences and rich influence of the teaching to their ministries. We are prayerfully expecting more to come. We look forward to partnering with our churches and our emerging leaders on this journey of transformation. We know our churches will be deeply impacted by how God uses this experience!
Don’t lose out on another year to join in this amazing cohort of emerging leaders journeying together. The application deadline is August 15.
If you are a leader planning to lead a short-term mission, NAB Gateway is hosting an online workshop designed to train you in best practices for short-term missions. This workshop spans two days, kicking off the evening of Friday, September 18, and continuing through Saturday, September 19.
This training will be led by Gateway Director Randy Schmor. Randy has led and trained short-term mission teams for over two decades. He is on the board of Mission Excellence and uses these guidelines to empower others with the knowledge and skills of how to build appropriate and thriving global partnerships.
You can register for the workshop using the link below.
When God’s people come together in unity, something special happens. Whether it’s for celebration, service, worship, or something more, God’s presence in our world is announced when we gather under his name and for his purpose.
This past May, more than 100 leaders from across the NAB gathered in Medina, Ohio, for Bonfire, where they shared what God is doing in our midst. When asked what was most impactful for them at Bonfire, one participant said it was “the deep yet humble commitment to being on mission together where God has placed us.”
When you partner with the NAB by financially supporting the Ministry Resource Fund, you help ministry leaders stay on mission in their local contexts. As we look ahead to the next big gathering at Triennial in July 2027, would you help us finish strong in this fiscal year, which ends on August 31? Consider a gift of $250, $150, $100, $75, or whatever amount the Lord is leading you to give by the end of August.