Rowland Croucher


Rowland Croucher is an Australian pastor, counsellor and author.

Early life and education

He was brought up in the Open Brethren in Sydney.
Rowland Croucher graduated as a teacher from Bathurst Teachers' College; BA University of New England; LTh., Dip.RE, Melbourne College of Divinity; ordained as a Baptist pastor, NSW Baptist Theological College; Master of Education University of Sydney; Bachelor of Divinity MCD., Doctor of Ministry Fuller Theological Seminary.

Personal Life

Croucher and his wife Jan were one of the earliest couples in Australia to be ordained to ministry in Baptist churches. She had several fulfilling ministries - mostly part-time or voluntary - at Heathmont, Syndal, Boronia, and Doncaster East Baptist Churches, and was for several years also involved in Prison ministry to women. She passed away in 2017 after 57 1/2 years of a very fulfilling marriage. They had four children, six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren.

Career

After a five-year career as a high-school teacher, Croucher began training in 1964 for the Baptist ministry in New South Wales. He worked for the InterVarsity Fellowship ; then pastored churches in Australia: Narwee and Central Baptist Church - both in Sydney - and Blackburn Baptist Church in Melbourne, which became a "megachurch" in the late 1970s, with seven pastors, a salaried staff of 25 and 1,000 attending; plus several interim ministries. He was then, briefly, pastor at First Baptist Church, Vancouver, Canada. From 1983 to 1991 he worked for World Vision Australia.
Since 1991, Croucher has been founding director of John Mark Ministries, serving pastors, ex-pastors, church leaders and their spouses throughout Australia and elsewhere. Rev. Les Scarborough and Psychologist/Trainer Tim Dyer are colleagues. As of 2019, there are almost 100 John Mark Ministries Pastors' Encouragement groups operating in Australia.
The John Mark Ministries website, with 20,000+ articles, claims to be one of the most accessed non-denominational religious websites in Australia.
In 2011, Croucher added his voice to those of other Christian leaders calling for the introduction of same-sex marriage in Australia.

Books