Tackling today’s ministry recruitment crisis

The fall in number of men and women coming forward for training means many denominations (not just the Church of England) are facing a recruitment crisis, especially as the baby boomer generation retires in the next five to ten years. Many churches have been advertising for assistant pastors, associate vicars, women’s workers, student workers, youth workers and children’s workers for well over a year, without success.

But finding someone to take up these positions is not the only challenge. Even when suitable candidates have been found and accepted a job, a growing number have had to withdraw because they cannot afford to move to the area concerned. The rising cost of rental accommodation means that many letting agencies are expecting an annual salary of £50,000+ before they will allow people to view any properties.

And this is not just a problem in London and the South East. Since the pandemic, the cost of living has increased for everyone and many people are cautious about moving to a new area for a new job, especially if the salary they are being offered is lower than what they are currently earning.

So, what’s the answer? Here are some of the ways that churches have risen to meet these challenges :

• Recruiting from within: raising up your own ministry staff is a long-term strategy but many would argue this is what the New Testament always envisaged. Senior ministers should always be on the look-out for those within their congregations who could be set apart for word ministry – not just as preachers but also as women’s workers, student workers, youth workers and children’s workers. It is unreasonable to expect others to provide these if churches are not willing to feed the supply themselves. There are various training pathways available (online, in-person, day as well as residential) but being rooted in the local church is absolutely key.

• Using Christian Housing Trusts: there are several housing trusts that have been set up to help with the accommodation of Christian workers, either by helping people to buy, or part buy, their own homes or offering rental accommodation at less than the market rate.

• Asking church members to collectively invest in staff housing: this won’t be an option that suits everyone, but some church workers have been able to secure a modest mortgage on their salary with the deposit being provided by members of the church family. According to their recent “lmpact Report”, in 2024 Kingdom Bank have provided 20 personal mortgages for Christian workers (totalling £3.1m) and enabled churches to purchase 22 homes for ministry workers (to the value of £6.4m).

The recruitment crisis will not be solved overnight, but long-term strategic planning is needed if we are to multiply faithful word ministry and secure the proclamation of the gospel for future generations.

The Proclamation Trust is committed to multiplying word ministry by training men and women to teach the Bible faithfully, and so train others to do the same. Their portfolio of training courses are specifically tailored towards those who, God willing, will go on to full-time word ministry as preachers, or women’s workers, student workers, youth workers and children’s workers, as well as those who desire to serve the church in a voluntary capacity.