Pulling Fire Alarms. The Preacher Shortage Crisis and What You Can Do About It
When I was in college, a friend of mine had to leave school because he was sneaking around in buildings pulling fire alarms. He was a nice guy, and he may even be reading this now as he went on to be a good preacher. Who among us hasn’t looked at one of those things and wondered what it’d be like (maybe I’m revealing too much about myself in admitting that)?
There is a whole lot being written lately in both the churches of Christ and the larger religious world about preacher shortages. Some are pulling fire alarms. Anytime you see someone giving an overly alarming statistic, check their agenda AND the source of their numbers. Remember, WE are HARD to number and track.
In one sense there is absolutely no shortage at all. In virtually every congregation that calls itself a church of Christ last Sunday a man stood up and spoke from God’s Word and for good or bad, that day he was the preacher. And most every church had a preacher Sunday. Now, trained or untrained, prepared or unprepared, for good or bad, we could discuss, but he WAS “the Preacher” that day. Thom Rainer did a study that showed an increasing number of “pastors” in the larger religious world would quit immediately if they could replace the salary. When TJI did an identical survey a month later, our numbers were SIGNIFICANTLY lower. Said simply, our guys are not looking to get out! David Roach wrote in Christianity Today that “1 in 4 Pastors Plan to Retire Before 2030.” Mr. Roach said the average age of preachers in the larger religious world is 52. Interestingly our recent survey on preacher’s ages reveals that the average age of preachers in the churches of Christ based on those who responded was 52 (survey taken by 307 ministers).
Here is some of what we have found. Out of 450 preachers surveyed, 82% said if they change roles/jobs, the next will still be in preaching/ministry. A survey at the end of the pandemic revealed that only 11% of our guys were ready to quit; the majority were excited and optimistic about the future.
A lot of those who are pushing this one are from our preacher training schools and Bible departments - love them all - but they need students and if people can be convinced we are going to have a preacher shortage then good brethren will support their work. The others pushing this are those who are also pushing the false narrative that the church is dying. News flash, it isn’t, it can’t, and it won’t (Daniel 2:44; Matthew 16:17-18). As I survey what is happening, the church of our Lord is very possibly growing faster than at any time in history. Yes, a number of congregations in the US are “aging out” (that is nothing new), and those on the extreme left and programs associated with them are bleeding members very quickly, but many congregations are flourishing!* The further truth is since we are not a denomination we cannot be numbered. Anything we do is based on estimates. But that’s for another article, another day.
On a side note, all of this has seemed to give rise and attention to bi-vocational ministry. While this has always been extremely popular in churches of Christ where we do not ordain ministers or require any “papers” for a person to preach. Today it seems to be as popular as ever. These heroes will probably never replace full-time ministry, but they do amazing things both in their places of work and impact in the community. They have always blessed God’s Family.
In this article, we’ll address the what and why of the suggested shortage and then turn to solutions to help. Why might I have any insight on this particular matter? I curate the largest listing of churches looking for preachers in the church today. I fain no self-importance there, The Scoop Blog is not OF me. I am just the traffic director.
While I am not yet ready to call it a trend but it does seem that an awfully large number of men are getting out of preaching. There is no doubt that churches are taking longer in hiring a minister than they did in the past. Additionally, we are posting a LOT more churches than we did in the past. Some of that is 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.” Gone are the days when a church would have a guy in to preach, interview him, and hire him in one night. While this probably came about as a result of being more cautious. Overall, this one is actually a good thing.
For the most part, churches are paying more than ever. Salary percentages are up across the board between 8-14% in the last two years. As a result, guys who before might have considered a move are more content, and fewer preachers are moving. The pandemic left churches with MORE money than ever (several things factor into that: fewer programs cost less money, online giving improved some people's giving consistency, and good givers gave more because they didn't want the church to suffer, in Tennessee and Alabama the Comer Fund aided in this some).
That increase in church financial health led to a second factor: As a result of having MORE money, more congregations than ever are hiring a second or third minister. A decade ago it was fairly rare to see a church of 100 members having a second minister. OFTEN now we are seeing churches of 50 and sometimes less hiring a second man and many congregations of over 300 will have 4 or 5 full-time people involved in their ministries. How that affects the supposed preacher shortage is that every time a larger church hires an additional minister, it takes a guy out of the prospect pool. The good news in this might be that not only are they already preaching, but just to a younger audience. But, with the (hopefully) mentoring one day, many of these youth guys are going to be our preachers and may be well prepared.
A neighbor to this is that today the percentage of ministers who go straight to the pulpit right out of college has dramatically decreased. Forty years ago it was rare for a Bible major not to go straight to a pulpit. A handful might go on to Masters Work, but even then those typically would be preaching. Maybe one or two from a class would pursue a counseling degree. Now, it seems those numbers have almost flipped.
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. We are seeing a rather large number of preachers in this generation retiring.
It appears a number of our younger ministers are jumping out of paid ministry. While this is concerning, it is not just a ministry trend but a cultural one, as quitting has become a thing. For whatever reason, whether it is because we have soft-sold the hard work of ministry, or weak leaders in congregations, or some in the generation are just soft themselves, this is proving to be a challenge in almost every field. The other side of this is that those who DO work have to take on more to make up for those who do not.
No doubt some of the problem is simply because the last two or three years have really been hard - harder than normal. Our culture increasingly disrespects Christianity in general and because of the behavior of some “clergymen,” preachers in general are vilified instead of respected. A Gallup survey earlier this year says ministers rating for ethical behavior has fallen to the lowest level in 40 years of surveying. Social media has escalated the polarization of Americans. The easy access to sermons by “popular” preachers who post only their best, preach once a week, do no ministry, and have a staff who write their sermons, makes it more challenging for the “blue-collar” preacher to get a hearing.
So, yes, it does appear there is a general decrease in the number of trained and equipped preachers. BUT the bigger question is, what do we do about it? To state the problem and offer no solutions is unacceptable. As I wrote this, I feel some of these are obvious. And it may be, but are you actually doing them?
1. Pray - John 11, that’s what Jesus said. Lord, send forth harvesters - the fields are indeed full and ready to be harvested! It certainly appears that the church is growing again. Congregations are focusing on evangelism. Let’s pray about the future generation of preachers and the generation training now.
2. Encourage young men. Start now with and start encouraging young men as young as you can to consider preaching. One of the number one funnels into preaching comes from preachers who encourage young men to preach.
3. Give opportunities for these young men to develop. Let them deliver the invitation on Wednesday nights, and invite them on a Sunday to present a short lesson before you preach. Have them speak at a nursing home devotional. Nothing develops preaching like preaching.
4. Buy them a book: This may seem like a small thing, but it will make an impact. When I was about 13 a preacher bought me a copy of Sound Doctrine Vol. 1 by C.R. Nichol and R.L. Whiteside. It made me think about preaching even more.
5. Make it look good! Make it look like you love what you are doing. Do your work with joy and excellence. If you are miserable or come across that way why would any young person consider that life a life to desire? That may require a refocus on how you do what you do! Keep growing, learning, and improving throughout life! Do it well! Work on your own craft. Read the new article “Substance -vs- Style” HERE.
6. Speak well as much as is possible and as often as is possible about other preachers: Encourage each other! If you are constantly running down other preachers, you will never be able to convince someone this is a good field to go into. We have to work together on this. Don’t run down other preachers over silliness or ANY matter that is not clearly doctrinal.
7. Elders, treat your preachers well: Yes, they make mistakes (only two perfect feet have ever walked here); no they are not the best preacher in the world (as if this is a competition). BUT you want to help make them better; you have a vested interest in them being better! You and your preacher need to be on the same team, working together, encouraging each other. If our guys have to live slightly below the poverty line, fewer young men who want to marry and raise a family will choose that. Treat them the very best you can. Why not?
8. In talking with young men considering preaching, 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. BUT in the same breath, it is worth it, I would not choose to do anything else with my life.
9. 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? And, yes, you do work for the elders (when God starts signing your paycheck…). I understand the other sentiment, but it is most often used not to be under elders’ authority. The fact is, if you work for God, He tells you to be submissive to the elders who rule over you. So, it works either way. Help your elders grow to be better elders, don’t tear them up or God’s plan up.
10. Send boys to a preacher training class or a future preacher’s camp: There are more and more of these preacher training camps, and they ARE making a tremendous impact and are becoming a key source for future preachers.
11. Have a specific training program: A “Timothy Class,” Lads to Leaders, a summer training program, or some such program that is proactive.
12. Mentor them! Young men need mentors. Young preachers need them too. Side note here, when guys are young they may be immature; give them some slack, and be patient with them as you would a son or a younger brother - don’t run them off over disputable matters or your attitude.
13. Talk with your elders and work on a plan: One church in middle Tennessee realized that it had been several generations since they had had a young man decide to go into ministry. They developed a program to encourage young men to consider ministry. They began internships. Over the last decade, they have had 16 who have gotten into ministry.
Friends, THERE is hope! There is no reason to pull the fire alarm. We can impact this! The good news is the tide may already be turning through camps, college scholarship programs like those at Heritage Christian University and Faulkner University, elders who are becoming better shepherds, and a generally more optimistic outlook in the church.
*Note: More conservative to moderate programs like Lad-to-Leaders, Challenge Youth Conference, Exposure Youth Camp, Polishing the Pulpit continue to grow and flourish.