July 7th, 2007
“Youth” and the dying church”
I am an anomaly. I am a Seminary Graduate with a Master of Divinity degree and I am 28 years old.
Experts say there has been a 20-year decline in the number of clergy under the age of 35, especially among mainline denominations. But this is only the beginning. The baby boomers are preparing to retire and the sad truth is: there are fewer and fewer people ready to replace them. And perhaps even more freighting, most of the people who are prepared to do so are only 10 years behind them.
The Methodist church recently completed a survey that showed the average age of its ministers to be 51. The same study also showed that only 5% of the denominations pastors are under 35 and that this number is dropping at an alarming rate each year. In the study released this year by the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological similar claims appear for the numbers of the Roman Catholic Church. The RC shows only 3.1% of its minister under the age of 35. In the United States the Episcopes and Lutherans are nearly the same rounding out at 4% and the American Baptist’s neck and neck with the Methodist at only 5%.
Interestingly few people are paying attention. Part of the reason is because Seminary attendance is actually up from where it was just ten years ago. In fact, the Association of Theological Schools (the accrediting agency for all North American Seminaries) shows that this number is up nearly 22 percent from previous years. But that is only half the story. The other half is that only 55% of these graduates plan to take on traditional vocational ministry roles.
Recently one report said that one of the nation’s largest seminaries had only 17 students under the age of 35. That’s 17. And the total number of students: 325.
What does all of this mean? It means that by the year 2012 their will likely be nearly 5 times as many members of the clergy retiring as there are people to fill those positions today.
As a member of an ever-increasing minority of people in the ministry, it’s interesting then for me to see such resistance to youth where quite frankly it is needed the most. Both John Calvin and Martin Luther were well under 35 by their first appointments and more importantly the Bibles James was most likely only 18 when Paul wrote to him “Do not let anyone look down on you for your youth”.
In a world where the Bride of Christ is so hesitant to hire people under the age of 35. In a world where the mostly unwritten rule of search committees is to do little more than glace at the application of a young minister - it might be more important than ever to remember that Jesus didn’t quite make the prerequisite either. I guess in the end (though I am an anomaly) I have no right to be bitter. After all what better company could I possibly keep?
Kaetie says:
when you say, Bride of Christ, are you referring to the Church? If so, how has the Church become referred to as such? Just interested…kaetie
July 8th, 2007 at 3:58 am
Ashley says:
I agree that the church needs to advocate for more young people. However, in your statistics you did not list anything about non-denominational churches. I’m not sure what the statistics are but I’ve heard that more young people are joining, and working for non-denominational churches. Mainly I think the reason for this is that they offer a setting more young people can relate to, such as bands instead of choirs, and they often incorporate movies and such into the sermons. I belong to a non-denominational church and the majority of the church is in the young adult category. My church may be an exception, but it may be worth looking into, to see if more young people are being attracted to these churches.
July 8th, 2007 at 9:41 am
lowendaction says:
I think what we are witnessing is the progressive death of the established church as we know it. And it’s not entirely bad (pause for thunderous applause and cheers from the SCP nation).
I’m not saying this out of spite or ill will against the church, but simply as an observation. Not only of the present state of the American church, but also in reflection of the church in the counry I grew up in: Germany. The church is a living entity, and so with all things mortal, it is in peril of dying (not implying any such thing of Christ or the Holy Ghost…just the human eliment of the church). This is healthy and normal. And when it happens, we should expect renewal and rebirth of something even greater.
Though the immediacy of this fact is sad, I do believe this could potentially usher in a new and exciting era. And I for one would like to say that I am glad that you ARE sticking with it, and look forward to the few others like you who will pioneer the church through this next storm.
be blessed.
July 9th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Ken Fleck says:
I appreciate your passion on this subject and would love to stay in touch about what we could do to stir up a generation to surrender their lives to Christ. I’m trying to do this through my site, missionaryroad.com, and would love your feedback.
Ken
***Check out the Launch of my newly redesigned site, www.MissionaryRoad.com ***
July 11th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Ed says:
Nice site! Why wouldn’t you just start sharing the gospel to those around you and build a church? Why look for a ministerial job? You seem to have a good prospective. Just do the work of a minister and let God provide.
Ed
September 28th, 2007 at 4:54 pm