Why won’t churches consider young pastors?
When I was young(er), I was told by many preachers about the countless churches closing their doors because they had nobody to pastor/lead them. I was informed that there were thousands of churches seeking pastors. I guess I was naive to assume that this meant there would be countless opportunities for a young man looking to pastor a church. It turns out that many of these churches have a very specific man in mind. They don’t want someone under 30, and would prefer that his wife play piano (as well as play part-time secretary) for free. I realized at 21 that this wasn’t going to be as easy as I’d assumed. I watched countless young guys before and after me struggle to land an actual ministry post that wasn’t a volunteer position (nothing wrong with volunteering, but most people don’t go to college/seminary to be a volunteer). On the flip side every year guys graduate from Seminary, Bible College, or equivalent and begin applying to open churches. Often these churches look at the line called ‘experience’ and turn a blind eye to the education the applicant may or may not have. No church wants to take a risk on somebody with no experience. In their mind, these churches deserve the best… so they keep looking. This leads to what I call the hiring gap. On one end I see the young guys saying “Hire us, we need experience!” On the other hand I see the churches saying “Maybe in a few years, when we know if you’re serious!” It plays out something like this: a guy gets a secular job and volunteers at church. This is intended to be temporary. He works hard and begins to get promoted at said workplace. Before too long, ministry is thought of as a romantic notion he had when he was young (when he didn’t understand the real world).
I see this as a problem, but I want to offer 3 solutions:
Churches partnering with students
I’d love to see more churches taking guys under their wing and helping them through college. It’d probably take a larger church, but imagine if churches could bring on students in a part-time position, help them with their schooling costs with the understanding that once they graduate they’ll stay at the church for a set amount of time. This could be especially effective for students taking online courses toward a degree. I learned so much at my internship. I’d love to see young guys getting the mentorship aspect from a pastor while taking classes and getting their hands dirty with real life ministry.
Colleges and Universities doing more to find opportunities
(Disclaimer: I graduated from a small Christian college) When I graduated I didn’t know many pastors or churches. I didn’t know where to begin looking for a job in ministry. Countless guys graduate from large and small colleges and universities every year only to find that nobody told them how to find an actual job out there. if the numbers are true and there are thousands of churches looking for help, why does it seem so hard to find anything remotely feasible as a first posting in ministry? I’m 28. I know of openings now that I never would have heard about when I was 21. As I get older I try to pass these opportunities along to guys who are looking the best I can. In truth, the job falls on our schools and us (ministers out there in it). It boils down to communication. If you are looking, tell people. If you know of an opening, tell people.
Church internships that turn into jobs
We will be hiring a guy later this year to replace me (I’ll be starting a church with Home Missions again). He is new to full time paid ministry, but has been volunteering and teaching at our church for some time now. Our plan is to give him a 6 month trial period, during which he works a few days during the week and begins to replace me. We will pay half of his salary and everyone will agree nothing is written in stone until the 6 months are up. It’s good for him, because if he realizes 3 months in that this type of ministry isn’t for him, he won’t feel like he’s letting us down by bailing. It’s good for us because it allows us to see what his strengths and weaknesses may be early on. At the end of the 6 months we’ll meet and see how he feels, how the church leadership feels, and how the pastor feels about it. Likely, we’ll offer him a contract for full-time salary. This is our way of easing him into ministry.
***update*** I wrote this article about 14 years ago. As a 40 year old (in 2025) I now have some more insight. I strongly discourage men younger than 30 to consider senior leadership in the church. There are exceptions. Our church does utilize internships that turn into jobs. It’s working well. I still wish colleges did a better job partnering with the local church to open students eyes to what real ministry looks like.