9/15/2023 0 Comments Awaken church kcI remember a survey which showed that 90% of our International Missionaries said that a mission trip as a young person was very instrumental in them sensing God’s call to serve as a career missionary. Provide several ministry and mission opportunities that God can use to affirm His calling in a person’s life. Intentionally challenge children, youth, and adults to consider God’s call upon their life.Pray “Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” Future missionaries and pastors don’t come from seminaries and denominational agencies they are called by the Lord from churches just like yours.What can we do? I recommend that your church do the following: It’s not uncommon to hear stories of churches in small towns and country crossroads communities in the Midwest often not receiving one resume after posting their open position. Missouri currently has nearly 300 pastorless churches. Couple that with an escalation in resignations of mid-career, experienced pastors over the last few years and the shortage of pastors is undeniable and palpable among our S.B.C churches. I have heard registrars from one of our seminaries and two of our state Baptist colleges share this very thing. Actually, there is a decline in enrollment of men seeking vocational ministry degrees. Those increased numbers in enrollment are the result of the seminaries adding non-ministry undergraduate degree programs which attract men and women seeking a more faith-friendly, Christian education. Recently, I read an article from the Baptist Press expressing enthusiasm over Southern Baptists not having as great a shortage of pastors as other mainline denomination and some seminaries having record enrollment. Last year, 2022, a full-time church in a desirable community, with a much sought after school system, with great potential for growth received 31 resumes for their open pastorate. In 2015 another full-time, pastorless church received 350 plus resumes during their search process. In 2014 a full-time, pastorless church in our Association received 268 resumes after posting their open position. Allow me to illustrate this shortage in real numbers from my personal experience working with pastor search committees over the last several years. It is not the purpose of this article to belabor the reasons for this shortage, but to awaken our churches and current pastors to the actual dearth of new, young pastors. The problem is that there are far fewer younger men surrendering to full-time vocational ministry to take up the mantle of faithful men like these listed above. This wave of retiring pastors is probably a fair sampling of what’s going on across the SBC as 1000’s of Baby Boomer Pastors are presently retiring or near retirement. Beckner from Raymore FirstĮrnie Cecil from Antioch Southern Scott Flippin from Norfleet Baptist Tim Redding from Peculiar First Randy Messer from Oak Grove FirstĬhane Hutton from South Kansas City (Testimony Church) J.C. Welby Jones from Sterling Acres Larry Heenan from Spring Valley Baptist Church Forgive me if I leave anyone out, but here is the list of retiring pastors within the last four years: I want to congratulate and express my deepest appreciation for several of our BR-KC pastors who have retired in the last few years after long, faithful pastorates. Pastors Retiring and the SBC’s Leadership Crisis
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