A Significant Need
There is a shortage of candidates for ordained pastoral ministry, including pastors, missionaries, church planters, and missionaries.
Consider the following from a handful of the churches that RTS serves: Ten percent of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church’s roughly 300 congregations are seeking pastors. Twenty-five congregations in the United Reformed Churches have vacant pulpits. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, a denomination of 600 churches, has learned that half of its ministers plan to retire in the next five years. And the Presbyterian Church in America has estimated a need for 220 new ministers annually to meet existing needs and reach goals for church planting, foreign missions, and expansion of its Reformed University Fellowship campus ministry.
To meet these needs in the upcoming year would require about 335 pastoral candidates. However, this past year, the Reformed seminaries that supply the majority of these denominations’ ministers produced only about 180 Master of Divinity graduates.
A Faithful God
This should catch our attention, but it shouldn’t alarm us. After all, the Lord of the covenant has promised to build his church (Matt. 16:18). It should also remind us of Jesus’ teaching earlier in Matthew’s Gospel, where he says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest (Matt. 9:37-38).
A Matter for the Whole Church
The communion of the saints means that the shortage of ministers affects all churches, even if our own congregation isn’t presently searching for a pastor. Below are several suggestions for how pastors, congregations, and individual members can serve one another in helping to meet this need.
- Pray – In keeping with Jesus’ instruction, pray that the Lord of the harvest would raise up more laborers for the harvest. Commit to praying for additional laborers, including those currently preparing for ministry, in private, family, and public worship.
- Watch – Look around you. Are there any in your congregation who meet the qualifications for ordained office and evidence the gifts for pastoral ministry (1 Tim. 3; Titus 1)? Encourage them to cultivate their gifts for use.
- Encourage – Before seminary, during their studies, and even after graduation, doubts, nerves, and other obstacles threaten to derail candidates for ministry. The patient encouragement and constructive feedback from fellow believers plays a critical role in helping candidates to persevere, clarify their calling, and sharpen their pastoral skills and instincts.
- Give – The Reformed tradition has always placed a significant value on well-prepared ministers. This preparation takes significant financial resources, both for the students who relocate to study and for the institutions who train them. If you are able, consider giving above your tithe to support seminaries and scholarship funds for students.
- Consider – If you meet the qualifications for office, consider whether you might be called to ministry. Talk to your pastor, campus minister, and other mature Christians. They can help you discern whether you have the gifts for ministry and how best to cultivate them for use.
