Is there really a ministry recruitment crisis?

“Ministry recruitment crisis.” How do those words make you feel? Do they fill you with dread? Panic? Are you tempted to let out a sigh as you mutter that you aren’t surprised?

Back in September, Carrie Sandom, of the Proclamation Trust, told us that there is a fall in the number of men and women coming forward for ministry training. What are we to think? en spoke to key players in the evangelical world, including principals and directors of some of the UK's leading seminaries and colleges.

The decline and its drivers

Fewer candidates, post-Covid fatigue, and shifting priorities – these are just some of the reasons for the crisis, according to college leaders. Joel Morris, Executive Director of Union School of Theology, confirmed that there is a clear slowdown in people stepping forward for ministry training or leadership: “The double blow for colleges is far fewer students can, or want, to spend three or four years in full-time residential education.”

Isabelle Hamley, Principal of Ridley Hall, Cambridge, said the causes of the crisis are complex, pointing to a “post-Covid effect”. Many, she explained, have turned inward, prioritising comfort and wellbeing – not a bad thing in itself – but it has made people less willing to take on costly or demanding vocations, or to move away for training.

Offering God’s words to explain the situation was Donald John MacLean, President of Westminster Seminary UK, who cited Matthew 9v37: “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few.”

Two more Principals – Mark Cartledge of the London School of Theology, and Bill James of London Seminary – agree that ministry training is changing shape.

“The special place of the pastor and a ‘call to ministry’ are being eroded by a broader view of ministry of various forms,” James told en. “Lower-level training for short-term and local ministry commitment is more common. In this context larger churches can retain able men, but smaller churches go without pastors.” Cartledge cited a lower demand for formal theological education: “Seminaries and Bible colleges are facing a changing market, with more mature students, [and an increase in those] studying part-time and online.”

Nick Moore of Cranmer Hall, Durham, listed multiple causes: “The long tail of Covid, leadership scandals, clergy pay and conditions, higher expectations of flexible and part-time training and work, and (within the Church of England) debates over sexuality.” MacLean wants evangelicals to “be realistic about how off-putting scandals have been.” In Wales, Steffan Job, EMW’s Director of Ministries, confirmed that there is also a shortage of pastors. Yet he shared signs of encouragement, with EMW’s Theological Training Course seeing good numbers of people enrolled. He described the situation as “striking” because most participants are responding to a “clear call from a church to a particular place and situation, rather than pursuing ministry in a general sense.”

Encouragements from the field

Several other evangelical leaders also painted a more positive picture. According to Adrian Reynolds, Associate National Director of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC), there are record numbers of people in FIEC churches training for ministry. “We have over 100 trainee or just-starting assistant pastors; churches are more likely to invest in training women and those serving in other areas (e.g. musicians) than before,” Reynolds said. “The situation is more complex and often more encouraging than is sometimes presented.”

However, Reynolds acknowledged that there are challenges: “Many churches are saying it is harder to recruit lay elders; and, above all, stretched churches often struggle to properly fund training roles despite having individuals to invest in.”

James Robson, Principal of Oak Hill College, observed: “The flourishing of the church is directly related to the flourishing of its training.” Robson doesn’t believe that colleges have a crisis of recruitment – but acknowledged that the picture is mixed, with some colleges seeing growth and others, decline. “Oak Hill, for example, has recruited double the number of programme students from the previous year, all sent to study by local churches or parachurch organisations,” Robson told en.

Adapting the model: Flexibility

Identifying the “problem” is one thing, but how is it solved?

Flexibility is the way forward, according to many of the leaders we asked: adapting to students’ changing circumstances, while remaining faithful. Jen Charteris, Executive Director of Crosslands, noted that raising, equipping and sustaining church leaders has always been a challenge – and one that has required constant innovation in training for each generation. “Today, the ‘pipeline’ model of ministry recruitment and training that worked for 30–40 years is broken,” Charteris told en. “So, if you’re evaluating that, there is indeed a crisis: numbers doing ministry internships, seeking formal selection for ordination and enrolling with traditional colleges have fallen.

“But if you widen your gaze, there are signs of something different that is working, and it looks more like a network of pathways than a standardised pipeline. Many churches are thinking much more flexibly about how they raise up and train leaders. People with a variety of gifts and backgrounds are participating in a wider range of ministry leadership roles, often bi-vocationally.” She added that many are now pursuing theological education out of obedience and calling, rather than expectation.

Andy Du Feu is Principal of Moorlands College. “People want quality training, whether that is degree level, a gap year or short course,” he told en. “What is clear is that one size does not fit all, and so the blessing of different flavours, pathways, degree titles, modes of study (online, residential, hybrid, day course) is much needed.”

Iver Martin, Principal of Edinburgh Theological Seminary, offered a solution: “The only way to understand the landscape is to seek honest dialogue among younger gifted men and from there make necessary adjustments. Church leaders also need to send out the message that while ministry has its own unique challenges, it is deeply rewarding to see people come to faith and grow in Christ.”

Called 'for such a time as this'

Looking to the future, Du Feu is optimistic: “There are many stories across the training sector of growth, which happens against a backdrop of a hopeful church, experiencing what has been captured as ‘the Quiet Revival’ – which only seems to be getting louder.” Furthermore, James Burnett, Principal of Belfast School of Theology, at Stranmillis, is “extremely positive.” He told en: “While there is no doubt the Bible college landscape is undergoing tectonic shifts, change is not something to be feared, it is an opportunity to be harnessed through agile and transformative leadership."

Back in Wales, Job shared an anecdote: “I remember a similar season in the 1990s among the Welsh-language churches. There was a specific call to prayer for pastors – and within a few short years, the Lord raised up several men to serve His flock. God is able. With Him, nothing is impossible.”

And, with further encouragement was Robin Sydserff, Director of the Proclamation Trust, who concluded: “Over the next ten years, I prayerfully believe the Lord will inspire a movement to multiply workers in the UK and across the world. The foundations of this are being laid. The key factor will be local churches embracing their responsibility to train and send out workers, and training providers partnering with local churches, and with one another, to that end.”

After all is said and done, it seems that this is not simply a story of decline, but of transition – as seminaries, colleges and churches adapt to help form the next generation of evangelical Christian leaders for a changing world.

Other evangelical colleges and bodies were invited to contribute.