The Churches of Christ have a supply and demand problem: thousands of houses of worship and not enough preachers to fill the pulpits.
On Monday, at Harding University’s 100th annual conference in Searcy, about 100 people gathered for a session titled “Minister Shortages in Today’s Church.”
This shortfall has already had concrete consequences, not only for the congregations but also for the university affiliated with the Church of Christ.
Memphis-based Harding School of Theology announced Aug. 5 that it would move its operations to Searcy after more than six decades in Tennessee, citing what it called “an epidemic shortage of ministers,” said Bobby, editor of the Christian Chronicle. » Ross Jr. said during Monday’s panel.
The divinity school also announced it would reduce its tuition for master’s and certificate in spiritual leadership candidates, dropping them from $740 to $100 per credit hour.
The September issue of Ross’s publication, which provides in-depth, global coverage of Churches of Christ, included an article on its development. It also included a bountiful crop of help-wanted advertisements, with job openings listed for pulpit or preaching ministers in Colorado, California, Texas, South Dakota, Illinois, West Virginia, Georgia, Maryland and Missouri, among others.
Societal changes, covid-related challenges and other factors contributed to the deficit said Jérémie Beller, Chronicle opinion editor and another member of Monday’s panel.
The Chronicle has written extensively on the subject, and Beller is grappling with the issue at Oklahoma Christian University, where he is dean of the Bible college and director of church relations.
“SUPPLY CHAIN CRISIS”
“Fewer students and fewer people are interested in going into ministry. Fewer families are encouraging children to do it. Fewer congregations are preparing children in youth group to do it,” Beller told the audience. “Supply chain crisis has hit the ministry.”
Covid has left wounds. Attendance dropped during the pandemic and never fully recovered.
Social media has also complicated things, Beller said.
“Preachers are instantly verified in their sermons,” he said. “The authoritative voice in ministry from the pulpit has somehow (been) changed by what is sometimes called ‘the democratization of social media’. Everyone has equal access. Everyone knows Greek because ‘he can find it on his phone. It has positives and challenges, but the voice of ministry authority from the pulpit has been diminished because of it.
“UNDER A POLITICAL LENS”
Political tensions have also intensified.
“I heard a pastor say the other day, ‘I would preach for five more years if I didn’t have to preach during an election,'” Beller said.
“Everything we say from the pulpit is heard from a political point of view and people leave the church, not because they understand Jesus and are more committed to Jesus, but because they are more connected to their political party,” Beller said.
Legitimate financial concerns also caused some ministers to leave, he added.
“It’s not about ministers wanting to drive nicer cars and live in bigger houses, (although) there is some of that,” he said. “It’s about, ‘We need to take care of our family.'”
694 IN ARKANSAS
There are 11,905 Churches of Christ in the United States, including 694 in Arkansas, according to a statistical summary published in 2021 by 21st Century Christian Inc, based in Nashville, Tennessee.
They claim a total membership of around 1.4 million nationwide, including 79,931 in the natural state. Each Church of Christ attempts to model itself after the churches of the first century and each is completely self-contained.
The movement has no denominational headquarters or doctrinal creed. His music is non-instrumental or a cappella.
Many Church of Christ ministers must fund their own retirement and pay for their own health insurance.
There is no faith-based infrastructure to mandate coverage or negotiate more competitive rates, to implement pensions or to ensure retirees are not left destitute.
On Monday, Beller described how his own health insurance costs had soared by $800 a month in a year, leaving him with skyrocketing costs and worse coverage. When his second child was born, he had to pay the costs out of his own pocket because the pregnancy had not been covered.
DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGES
Many ministers face not only economic and political problems, but also demographic challenges.
Nationally, Protestant churches have experienced a sharp decline in membership and attendance since the start of the 21st century.
Median worship attendance at U.S. churches fell from 137 in 2000 to 65 in 2020, according to Faith Community Today’s 2020 report.
Those who remained were older than typical worshipers in previous decades, the study found. The average age of ministers was also increasing.
Attendance problems have accelerated during the pandemic. The post-Covid Church is smaller than it was before March 2020, numerous surveys have shown.
Small congregations, in particular, often have difficulty finding ministers.
Houston Costolo, an elder from Picayune, Mississippi, who attended Monday’s session, said his congregation, Picayune Church of Christ, has been looking for a pastor for four years.
‘I didn’t want to come’
“The women we considered good candidates didn’t want to come to South Mississippi,” he said. “They view southern Mississippi as a mission field and they’re looking, I think, for something else.”
The congregation, located 50 miles east of New Orleans, has declined significantly over the past two decades, he said.
“We were hit by Hurricane Katrina – it passed through our town – and, secondly, we were hit by Covid,” he said.
Before Katrina, attendance averaged about 125 people, he said. These days, 75 people show up “on a good day,” he added.
The congregation isn’t the only one with a vacancy.
“In our area there are four Churches of Christ that are looking for ministers,” he said. “We’re actually in good shape because we have six men preaching, and we’re touring, and the congregation is happy with it.”
Given the current direction of the country, Levy Church of Christ preaching minister Danny Dodd is not surprised that fewer young people are interested in pursuing ministry.
“I think, overall, our culture is becoming more and more hostile to Christianity in general,” he said. “Ministers, preachers and pastors are no longer held in the same esteem within a community as they once were.”
“IN OTHER DIRECTIONS”
For young people choosing a vocation, “the pressure to go in other directions is greater,” he said.
Rather than give up, Dodd’s congregation in North Little Rock is doubling down.
“We have established a program at Levy called GAP (Growing, Achieving and Preparing) which aims to introduce young men and women to aspects of speaking, ministry and teaching,” he said. declared. “Maybe you can light the fire in a young person’s heart for ministry.”
Congregations can also encourage young people called to ministry by providing financial assistance to help them cover college and university costs, he said.
Dodd’s home congregation in Mississippi did just that when he was a student, supporting him with money as well as prayers and inviting him to preach from time to time.
“I have come a long way”
“The encouragement and general support I received from this church was very helpful,” he said. “It’s been a blessing to me in so many ways.”
Jared Mayes, senior minister at Southside Church of Christ in Rogers, said young people who feel called to ministry sometimes encounter resistance.
“I was encouraged to do something other than preach,” he said. “I was telling people I wanted to be a minister and they were like, ‘Are you sure you want to do that?’ and I said, ‘Yes, I feel a holy calling to (do) that. There’s nothing more I want to do on planet Earth than be a preacher.'”
Mayes pursued his passion. It helped that his parents supported the choices he made.
These days, he strives to inspire a new generation of preachers.
He helped create the Kerusso Experience, a weeklong camp hosted by Harding’s Center for Preaching that teaches high school students how to prepare and deliver sermons.
Young people benefit when their church family takes an interest in their career path, whether secular or ecclesiastical, he said.
“We must encourage our young people to pursue not only ministry, but also faithfulness, to pursue God and the Christian life,” he said.