The “Impending” Preacher Shortage?
AUTHOR’S NOTES:
I refuse to join in with the “Chicken Little wannabe’s” whose every post is foreshadowing an apocalyptic demise of the Lord’s Family. They have a vested interest in the end of the church. First, they have no interest in Truth and second they have nothing to say if they can’t belittle the past or make fun of the church.
Disclaimer: anytime someone gives you stats - look carefully as to what their agenda is. What is their source? We are HARD to number. In writing this I do not want to provide any fodder for the misuse of my words. Take note, as an observer who interacts with thousands of our congregations, the vast majority and healthy, going forward, evangelizing, programming for growth, and optimistic.
There are a lot of voices talking about preacher shortages. Not all of them are accurate with their numbers or even right in their assumptions, so always read those carefully.
—-
I’m not yet ready to call it a trend but it does seem that an awfully large number of men are getting out of preaching and that the hundreds of congregations we deal with each year who are hiring ministers are having a harder time in hiring than in the past. We are posting a LOT more churches looking than we did in the past. Some of that is probably based on our own increased visibility and reach. But that is not all of it. Here are a few of my theories based on observations:
Churches have become a little more picky and cautious in hiring. They look longer for the "right fit." This first observation is not necessarily a bad thing. The old concept that any Christian man can preach at any congregation was never true and led to a lot of division, expense, and heartache. While any Christian man and woman can marry and stay married, and while that is the starting point, for compatibility you and long term happiness you might need to look deeper. Back to preaching, the concept that any good man can preach at any good congregation should be looked at carefully. For instance, what if he only spoke Spanish and there wasn’t anyone in the church who could interpret. I think Paul would indicate that would be unwise. The fact that many churches are trying to find the “right match” for the congregation is a healthy thing even if it takes a little longer. This is not a shameless plug, but TJI does offer a free book on Hiring A Minister to any eldership who wants them.
Churches are paying more than ever: How has that affecting hiring? Guys who before might have considered a move are more content and fewer preachers are moving.
The pandemic left many healthy congregations with MORE money than ever (several things factor into that: less programs cost less money, online giving improved some people's giving consistency, and generous givers gave more because they didn't want the church to suffer. Combine those things with an overall stronger economy). As a result, MORE churches than ever are hiring a second or third minister. Every time a larger church hires an additional minister, it takes a guy out of the prospect pool.
The percentage of young preachers who would go straight to pulpit 40 years ago has DRAMATICALLY decreased. I recently contacted every graduate from a class at one of our schools about preaching and EVERY ONE of them were either already in a work or were looking for a none pulpit role. This CAN have some health to it IF we are mentoring these young men well from the preacher and the elders. But even then, there is no training ground for learning to preach like preaching.
We had a LARGE number of men (probably an unusually large number) who got into full-time ministry in the '70-'80s. Many of these men are reaching retirement age and are actually retiring. In the recent post there were five guys who are retiring. This is a change from the past. While some guys in the past did retire, most did so based on health. Today guys who preach actually retire. I am not convinced this is a good thing, as with preaching we should become MORE effective as we grow older.
It appears, a number of our younger ministers are jumping out of paid ministry. This is not just a ministry trend but a cultural one as quitting have become a thing. One study recently said that 70% of those who preach will not remain in the pulpit for 10 years. Sometimes that decision is based on very reasoned logic. There have always been those who got into this work and then realized they could not do it. My concern is if one jumps out too quickly they may short-circuit the good God could do with them. Side note. A recent survey revealed the top reasons preachers quit as 1, Frustration/Burnout/Unrealistic, 2. Financial concerns, 3. Sin.
Finally, some of the preacher shortage is simply because the last two years have really been hard - harder than normal - and the future doesn’t necessarily look like it is going to get any easier.
So, what do we do? There is something we can do about this, in fact several something’s:
Pray: That’s what Jesus told us to do in John 11.
Encourage young men as young as you can to consider preaching.
Give opportunities for them to develop. Some of your members will complain. They need to grow up and learn to feed themselves. Sometimes take a young guy with you to an appointment and ask the elders where you are going if they will let him speak first.
Buy them a book: Sign it to them. Believe in them.
Make ministry look good! Make it look like you love what you are doing. That may require a refocus. If all they hear are the seldom heard but often talked about “war stories” of preachers being mistreated, why would they decide to do that?
Speak well as much as is possible and as often as is possible about other preachers: Help build this brotherhood of ministers. Check your ego. Don’t construct mountains of your personal opinions. Speak well of those who decide this is the noble, important, and worthy work they have chosen.
Do it well! Work on your own craft. Keep growing. If you look bored or are never innovative they will see this as a boring job and that is a hard sell.
Talk with your elders and work on a plan: Discuss how to develop ministers within your congregation. Without a plan nothing happens. We all know of the church that went 100 years without sending one man into the ministry and upon realizing it got busy and now turn out two or three men of excellence every year.
Be realistic: I sometimes think I’ve made people believe this is easy. It isn’t. It is painful. Heartrending. It is disappointing and not what we thought it was. You’ll have people belittle you, make you feel worthless or worse. You’ll have people leave the church and blame you for it. You’ll invest your all in people and they will try to get you fired.
Don’t be critical of the church or her leaders all the time: Who would want to work for elders if all elders are bad elders.
Get them to attend a preacher training class or camp: There are some excellent ones out there that will fan the small flame in a young man’s heart and help him see peers who are choosing this life.
Mentor them: Make it purposeful. Determine you will help young men who decide to preach to do it.
We need more preachers and better preachers. Any minister wants the next generation to be better, to be healthier, to be more fruitful. We can make an impact. Let’s do it.
