Think Inside the Box (Creating Future Leaders Series)

Raising the next generation of leaders is essential to the life of the church and goes to the heart of the purpose of theological education. We exist for the church! Yet we are facing a looming shortage of people studying for pastoral ministry.  Over the last years I’ve sought to raise the factors leading to this crisis and present some solutions. Read more here. And let me encourage you there are solutions! Solutions that may require us to think inside the box.

“Who do you have for me?”

I’ve been asked this question—in various forms—by countless senior pastors looking to call a new pastoral team member. They’re essentially asking if there’s anyone about to come off the end of the Bible college conveyor-belt who might be a good fit for their church. Sometimes I can make a suggestion or two. But more often than not, I’m left explaining that the vast majority of impending graduates who have been preparing for pastoral ministry already have a role lined up. And it’s often with the church that sent them to college in the first place. 

The question fits with the expectation that churches would call a pastor from outside their church community (which isn’t the model we see in the New Testament church.) In the past a church offering a full-time role, expected to employ someone who had completed at least their initial three to four years of theological study. That traditional paradigm is becoming less common. What was perceived as a bit of an oddity in 2002, when my home church called me as a full-time associate, has become normalised. The question I want to encourage our churches and pastors to ask is in fact “Who are we growing?”

What I first noted as a shortage of senior/lead pastors has shifted to associate roles, as a number of associates have moved to fill those senior vacancies. It means there’s an issue now in finding associate pastors, as well foreshadowing a bigger challenge in filling future lead pastoral roles. 

There are, of course, many different ways we will meet this challenge. Here, I want to encourage more churches to think inside the box when it comes to pastoral staff. 

Who’s already serving in your church?

Firstly, we want to encourage pastors to think about who is already serving in their church—someone who is displaying a godly character and is growing in their gifting—and challenge them to consider pastoral ministry. Secondly, you might be thinking about ministry. Are you thriving in your volunteer role, keen to grow in Biblical understanding and wanting to find new opportunities to serve. Invite your pastor for coffee and let them know that you are seeking to grow.  Once someone is identified as appropriate for ministry the next steps are to employ them on staff, mentor them well, and pay them to study part-time. (See my post on the importance of both formal training and ministry apprenticeship.) This makes answering the call to pastoral ministry possible—particularly for those who need to support a family while training—while addressing church staffing needs now. (Take a look at Matthew’s story, from Chatswood Baptist in Sydney.)

I’m passionate about this model, as it’s largely my own experience. And over the years, my home church has had a good track record of internal pastoral appointments (as well as some excellent outsiders!). Some have stuck around for a long time. Others have gone on to bless other churches and ministries. 

A little while ago I was asked by a pastor in a regional area whether I had a recent graduate who could lead a church plant in a town about an hour away. I didn’t have any names to suggest. So I challenged him to think if there was anyone already in his church who could lead the plant, under the senior pastor’s guidance, while being paid to study part-time (beginning with our SENT church planting certificate). His response was that he hadn’t even considered that as an option, and went away with some food for thought. 

Fast-track a mid- or late-life career change

As we think inside the box, we can't just focus on the age group at which someone traditionally has gone into pastoral ministry (i.e. late twenties to early thirties). Most churches probably have some mature Christians with plenty of life, ministry, and occupational experience who might be looking to contribute in a different way as they enter a new stage of life. They might not need the same preparation pathway, at least initially, as people who are younger and less experienced. 

Churches can fast-track their readiness with some part-time study while bringing them on staff to look after a specific area: e.g. families, discipleship, pastoral care, and the ever-growing need for an executive pastor. (Perhaps begin with a Graduate Certificate or Diploma, which can later be expanded into a two-year full-time equivalent Masters if they want to be prepared for a wider range of ministry.) 

There’s a Morling student about my age, who had been a lay leader in a regional town for many years. As he studied with us online part-time, it slowly dawned on him that God may be calling him to fill the long-time pastoral vacancy in his church. 

Get in early

Conversely, also consider investing in people younger. This is a nuanced area, as there still is great merit to the traditional advice: “get a few years of work and life experience, then go into vocational ministry.” 

However, cost-of-living practicalities have made it harder to make that switch a few years down the track: living out of home and needing to pay rent; maybe carrying student debt for a tertiary course that was only put to use for a few years; and perhaps being married with dependent children. (See my 2023 post on how the financial challenge of study is greater than in my generation.)

We are seeing more young people enter Bible college, sometimes as their first degree. They’re often still living with parents, making it more affordable, and are not adding to existing student debt. The downside is that churches are a little wary of employing younger graduates much beyond part-time “intern” status. Yet with appropriate mentoring as they begin, many will thrive in pastoral roles. 

Look around inside the box for young people in your church who have yet to jump on the study, career, property, and family treadmill!

Empower women

Most importantly, don’t overlook more than half the church population! Within your church’s theological and cultural context, encourage and empower women to consider various pastoral and staff roles, and invest in their training. 

If there are no theological barriers in your church, think about what other cultural or systemic speed bumps might need to be addressed. What I’ve observed is that sometimes women just need to be asked! 

And coming back to that opening question—who do you have for me? —I often know of more female than male graduates looking for pastoral roles. Coincidentally(?), I am blessed by the ministry of two of our female graduates in my own church.

Talk it through

Raising up the next generation of leaders is not just a challenge—it’s an opportunity to reinvigorate the life and mission of the church. By thinking inside the box, you can identify and invest in the people God has already placed in your congregation, whether they are seasoned lay leaders, young adults with untapped potential, or women ready to step into pastoral roles. The solutions are within reach; they simply require intentionality, mentorship, and a willingness to adapt. So, who is growing in your church? Start the conversation today—because the future of your church might already be sitting in front of you. Let’s work together to equip and empower them for the ministry God is calling them to.

If you’d like to talk further about some of these “inside the box” ideas—or other creative solutions that are very much on the outside—feel free to get in touch with me, or with the denominational leaders in your state. We’d love to help!