Preacher: Rowland Croucher

Rowland Croucher

The Rev Dr Rowland Croucher is a retired Australian Baptist pastor, counsellor, and author best known as the founder and director of John Mark Ministries, a support network for clergy and church leaders. Often referred to as the "Pastor's Pastor," he has spent decades providing counselling and retreats for ministers who have experienced burnout or "church-related" trauma. After training in 1964, Rowland pastored several churches, including Blackburn Baptist Church in Melbourne, which became a "megachurch" under his leadership in the late 1970s. He also served briefly at First Baptist Church in Vancouver, Canada. He founded John Mark Ministries in 1991, to specifically address the needs of the approximately 50% of clergy who leave parish ministry. Its website is one of the most extensive non-denominational religious resources in Australia, hosting over 20,000 articles. Rowland served as the Director of Leadership Enhancement for World Vision Australia from 1983 to 1991. He was married to Jan, also an ordained Baptist pastor, for over 57 years until her death in 2017.