Addressing the Pastoral Shortage (Part 1): 3 Things the Church Can Do

Yes, I know, we are ALL called to a life of ministry and we can all be ministers in our daily life and the situations God has called us to be in.

There’s been a massive emphasis over the last few decades, which has been extremely healthy, about understanding that all of life is worship, all our vocations are sacred to God, and we all have a ministry.

So yes, we want God calling people to be teachers, doctors, tradespeople, artists and artisans, public servants, politicians, stay-at-home parents, builders, engineers, academics, carpenters, care givers, hospitality workers, mechanics, and on we could go.

There is no sacred/secular divide, and we need Christians called and equipped in all of these sectors and vocations, and we’re all responsible to answer God’s call and whatever passions God has put on our heart and gifts God has given us.

I love teaching this idea and encouraging people in the work God has called them to and helping them see how their work can intersect with the heart of God and the kingdom of God.

However, as can often happen, the pendulum can swing too far in the other direction.

As we’ve emphasized the holiness and sacredness of all callings, we’ve maybe not emphasized or encouraged enough the specific call to give one’s life to God’s church in a formal, dedicated, vocational way.

The result is that we are facing a major pastoral shortage here in Canada, that if not solved, could result in the lack of gospel witness through the church in communities throughout Canada, and potentially even the closing of many churches, as has happened.

We’re seeing less and less people in Canada deciding to formally give their lives to the work of the gospel in a full-time, vocational way.

Bible schools are closing, enrollment is down, and young people are no longer even asking the question, “Is God calling me to a life in vocational ministry?”

In an article called “Waking up to the pastor shortage” Rick Hiemstra asks the question, "Why aren’t more young people going into pastoral ministry?" And he says:

“Declining social prestige and the cost of theological education are often mentioned.

What is less often mentioned is we seldom call young people into ministry anymore. This is a cultural change. Evangelical traditions historically have seen calling as coming from God through His Church, meaning churches had a role.

Now we tend to see your job . . . as something you discover for yourself . . . So we ask our children, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” rather than “What might God be calling you to do?” And then he says:

“If society doesn’t suggest pastoral ministry, parents don’t and churches don’t, how do young people come around to discovering [the call to] pastoral ministry?”

So what can we do? Let me suggest . . .

3 Things Churches Can Do to Fix the Pastoral Shortage

1. We create healthy environments for future leaders to be called and sent out

Part of the reason fewer young people are going into vocational ministry is because they’ve watched spiritual leaders get beat up, burned out, and stressed out, all for very little money, and they say, “If that’s ministry, I don’t want that life.”

It’s not just that people aren’t entering the ministry that’s causing the shortage of spiritual leaders, but also that those that do answer the call aren’t lasting more than a few years.

Part of the reason I’m pastoring today is as a youth I was discipled in a very healthy, dynamic church where most of the pastors had been there for decades, and many of them are still there now 20 years later, because it’s a healthy environment.

And although I knew church ministry would be hard, and I saw how hard they worked, I also saw them treated well, develop true friendships with fellow staff and congregants, and embrace a calling they enjoyed living out.

Churches should make it hard for staff to want to leave!

I feel this way at my current church and I know other staff do as well.

We want to bring young people up in an environment where a life in pastoral ministry actually becomes an appealing consideration for them.

That doesn't mean pastoral ministry isn't very hard work (look for part 2 or 3 of this series for more on that), but a healthy and supportive environment of current leaders will result in more potential future leaders.

People, especially young people, need to see women and men joyfully giving their lives to the local church and asking, “I wonder if I might be called to do that?”

Second,

2. We financially invest

That church I got saved and discipled in put heavy investment in its kids and youth programs, including staffing, as well as offering programs and internships for young people to discover their calling.

Financial health in the church will create more opportunities for people to find places to use their ministry gifts and therefore consider a life-long calling in church work.

The rising cost in housing has been mentioned as one of the reasons for the pastoral shortage in Canada, so we need to make sure future pastors can realistically make a living doing what they’re called to do.

Lastly, and maybe most importantly,

3. We make space for people to consider and respond to God’s calling

The way I got called into ministry was during corporate times of being in God’s presence and being encouraged to seek God and ask God “what do you want from my life? I’ll do whatever you ask.” So many times I was challenged to "surrender all to God" as a youth.

We need to create opportunities for people to hear from God.

What was key for me was not just feeling called but then having people around me, including spiritual leaders, affirm and confirm that to me, saying “I sense God calling you to a life of ministry, to dedicated service to the gospel.”

We need to make space for people to hear the call and say “I can’t possibly do anything else with my life than live for the sake of the gospel, nothing else will satisfy.”

Recently in a church service, with some fear and trepidation, I actually made a call for people to come forward who were feeling called by God into some form of vocational ministry. I thought maybe no one would come!

But in both services the front was filled with people willing to open their hearts to the possibility of God calling them in a more formal way.

There are more complexities to the shortage, I realize, some of which I'll try to cover in some future posts. But healthy church environments, financial investment, and creating opportunity and space for calling are initial steps any church can take.

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