The lack of younger preachers is one of the more troubling issues we are facing in our churches. According to the 2020 Faith Communities Today study, the average age for a pastor was 57, up from 50 in 2000. That may be for a more generic definition of pastor, but, from my travels, the age for Fundamental Baptist pastors isn’t much different.
As current pastors age and are forced to step aside, there aren’t enough younger men ready to step in and fill the gap, let alone plant new churches everywhere that they are needed. While I’m sure that there are many things that we could say or do about addressing this, there are at least three Biblical concepts that, if we put into practice, could be expected to make a real difference in bringing along more people to be pastors and preachers for the future.
1. A Missionary Perspective
First, we would benefit from regaining a missionary perspective in our own works. When a missionary arrives at a new mission field, he looks beyond maintaining, or even starting, a single church; he sees the need to build up local men to become pastors who can continue and even start more churches.
When we are expecting to stay at our work for decades, it can be easier to lose sight of the need to build up more preachers who will take or start other works. However, we still need to see America as the same kind of mission field that other missionaries see in their countries. Our church may not need another pastor for decades, but others near us will, and many more places need a pastor to start a church where there is none.
This mindset seems to lie behind Paul’s instruction to Timothy in II Timothy 2:2 to take what Paul had taught him and others and pass it on to more faithful men who could continue the cycle of instruction.
By that point, churches had been established in most major cities. However, many surrounding towns and villages still lacked churches, and these would require additional leaders as they grew. When established churches teach more men to be leaders, they help keep the Gospel moving forward in various areas, benefiting both themselves and others.
2. A Training Mindset
In the same vein, we can also be deliberate in bringing men along and helping them get started in ministry. We may have men or young men in our churches who have not been called to ministry, but we can still look to build them up with opportunities to serve as Sunday School teachers, bus workers, preaching in nursing homes, and so forth. Even if they are never called to full-time Christian service, these opportunities and the skills they develop from them will be valuable to their spiritual growth and service and helpful to our ministries.
Paul modeled this for us as he took Timothy with him and introduced him to the ministry in Acts 16:1-3. Nothing in the passage indicates that Timothy had recognized a call to ministry at that time, but Paul brought him along and introduced him to the ministry, which he then adopted as his own. Many people discover their gifts and calling by exploring the opportunities available to them. Expanding the opportunities to serve provided to men in our churches could help more of them realize that their calling lies in that path.
I say men, not just young men, because God has never limited the call to preach to those under a certain age. I fear that we often only look to our teenagers for potential leaders for the future, but God frequently called men who were already grown and established in their own careers to be His messengers.
There may be great potential leaders in the youth of our church, and I hope that is the case, but let’s not write off those who get saved or get on track when they are already adults. Timothy may have been a young man, but Peter, James, and John were grown fishermen when Jesus called them.
3. An Eternal Outlook
We can also help people consider the ministry in a better light by honoring those who are in the ministry. Our society today builds up entertainers, businessmen, and politicians to remarkable heights, but has very little to say about men who have given their lives to God’s service. If we say nothing different, the young people in our church are likely to grow up aspiring to be musicians, actors, athletes, or businessmen with little thought for a life lived in the ministry. Our youth need to hear that the real heroes aren’t those who make millions of dollars in this life, but rather those who give up opportunities for greater wealth or advancement in this life in exchange for God’s service and eternal rewards. I remember when I was a child, how many of the children would seek out the visiting preacher for an autograph because of how he was honored, but I rarely see that anymore.
Our youth need to hear that the real heroes aren’t those who make millions of dollars, but rather those who serve Christ faithfully
Paul made sure to build up men like Epaphroditus, who had made great sacrifices and taken significant risks for the kingdom of God. He instructed the Philippians in Philippians 2:29-30 to “hold such in esteem” because of how he served God at personal cost. If we build up our guest preachers and missionaries as heroes worthy of esteem while we confront the misguided value system of this world, we can encourage more of our young men to listen so that they might hear God’s call to ministry. We don’t want to put men on an unhealthy pedestal, but the position of the preacher of God’s Word is worthy of double honor. If we reflect that belief in how we speak of the men who share our pulpit, it may make others more willing to hear the call themselves.
None of us can call a man to the ministry, and I’m sure that the last thing any of us wants to do is put a man in ministry whom God has not called. We can, though, work on creating an environment where people are more ready and able to recognize and respond when the Holy Spirit does call some of them to His full-time service. I’d love to see the time come again when each church, through evangelization, discipleship, and creating the right atmosphere, sends more men into the ministry to further God’s kingdom. If we each do our part, I’m sure we can see many more preachers for the future!