Posted on: Saturday, October 16, 2004

Shortage of ministers a major concern of churches

By Ron Barnett
Greenville (S.C.) News

Renaurd West was studying government at Wofford College and had his sights set on being a lawyer when the call hit him.

It was an urge so strong that, at age 19, he was ready to give up the possibility of a lucrative career and a family to commit his life to God as a Catholic priest.

"It's not a career," he says. "It's who you are."

He's one of the few. In the Catholic Church, and in mainline Protestant denominations, fewer young people are going into the ministry at a time when many priests and pastors are approaching retirement, according to denominational studies.

The result is a shortage of clergy that is going to get worse unless the trend changes.

That means less time for personal care from pastors in times of need, more stress for those who remain in the vocation, and in some cases, closing the doors of churches and even threatening the future of denominations that have been losing members for decades.

"We aren't panicking or anything, but you do see a lot of gray-headed pastors at pastors' meetings," says Bruce McAllister, director of ministerial training and extension at Bob Jones University.

The main reasons behind the overall decline include a loss of some of the status such positions once held and the wider variety of options available to young people, says Melissa Wiginton, director of ministry programs for The Fund for Theological Education. The Atlanta-based organization works to encourage excellence and diversity in Christian ministry.

"It's sort of countercultural to decide to do something with your life that's not about making a whole lot of money," she says.

Evangelical churches, such as the Baptists, have a "culture" that is more encouraging of young people to enter the ministry, says Wiginton.

Nationwide, only 150 Episcopal priests now in service will be below retirement age in 15 years.

At Furman University, a program called the Center for Theological Exploration of Vocation works with students to help them "think more deeply" about the possibilities for their futures.

The situation in the Catholic Church has sparked a debate on opening the priesthood to married men and to women.

FutureChurch, an organization that is working to encourage a discussion of that topic, says two out of three priests it surveyed favor the idea of discussing the issue.