2023-09-01 15:59:28
The search for replacements in pastoral ministry is one of the biggest struggles for senior pastors, a recent study revealed. The need to find mature leaders who can carry on the ministry has proven to be a daunting task.
The interviews for the study were conducted almost a year ago, with 585 pastors between September 6 and 16, 2022, by Grupo Barna, an entity specialized in producing research related to the Christian world.
The universe surveyed were American pastors who occupy the position of main pastor of churches. With an average age of 52, 75% of respondents said “it is becoming more difficult to find young mature Christians who want to be shepherds”.
According to information from the portal The Christian Post, approximately one-third of pastors surveyed said they agreed “strongly” with the statement that it is harder to find replacements for the ministry. This number represents an increase compared to 2015, when only 24% made this statement with this emphasis.
In the most recent survey, 71% agree to some degree with the statement “I am concerned about the quality of future Christian leaders”. Although the socioeconomic context of the United States is very different from Brazil, these numbers serve as a warning to the Brazilian church due to the similarities of the evangelical segment in both countries.
scarcity of shepherds
During research, the Barna Group found that only 16% of senior church pastors in the United States are age 40 or younger. In the study report, the researchers noted that this is an indication that churches in the country will face a true pastoral succession crisis if nothing is done.
This information causes concern when the numbers are compared with another survey by the same entity, conducted in October 2021, which found that 38% of pastors in the United States “seriously consider” ceasing to work in full-time ministry.
As an example of this scenario, it is possible to cite a report by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which declared, in 2022, to face a deficit of “at least 600 pastors” in their congregations across the United States.
A pastor who recently took over a full-time congregation, leaving his home state of California and his former church to serve in a congregation in Montana, said the decision to become a pastor was not an easy one, even for him who is the grandson of two Baptist pastors and the son of an independent church pastor.
“There were social factors that took me away from the Church for a while. I did the typical pastor’s son thing and had no interest in the church. But then I discovered a denomination that is rooted and grounded in grace,” said Ryan Chaddick, 39.
“It’s not about who we exclude. It’s about welcoming and realizing that God’s table, Christ’s table, is big enough for all of us,” added he, who now leads the Lutheran Church of the Atonement.
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