The Revd Jenni Entrican has been officially elected as the next Vice President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain.

Jenni had 'the resounding support of the denomination,' said General Secretary the Revd Jonathan Edwards. She will serve as Vice President from 2013-14, President Elect from 2014-15 and then as President 2015-2016.

'Jenni has much to bring us and I have no doubt that she will offer significant encouragement and stimulus to church planting within the denomination,' he added.

'Every year we are delighted to see the birth of new church plants, but there is no doubt in my mind that there is still significant scope for more planting.

'I encourage every church to remember Jenni in their prayers as she prepares to serve the denomination in this wider way.'

Jenni describes herself as 'a delighted but unlikely pioneer'. For eight years she has led Jacob's Well, a plant from Chipping Sodbury Baptist Church, recently stepping down from the leadership team.

She is a member of the Bristol Baptist College Council and its education committee; chair of the Incarnate Church Planting Network; on the Baptist Union Council, and a member of the Women's Justice Group. She has been a mentor for newly accredited ministers and has led retreat days.

With the presidency more than two years away she said she requires a 'waiting and listening ear.' But in terms of what she would bring to the role, she said, 'First, and I hope always, just myself - a person like you, with gifts and skills and no doubt hang-ups, but hopefully a person who is continuing being transformed and excited by God as I grow and develop and get involved in what he is about in our communities.

'I am a woman minister who has led an alternative style church, an unlikely but delighted pioneer, and that will have an impact on the kind of areas I will get involved in.

'As I say in my profile, I really want to encourage others to have confidence about their relationship with God and what he really requires of them in living out the Kingdom.

'And I would love to see more voices released so that our Union vibrates with the colour and diversity and aliveness of God's Kingdom.'

This story first appeared on The Baptist Times.