American Pastors are Older Than Ever

Today’s guest post comes to us from Jeff Brumley for BaptistNews.com.

If you’re noticing a lot of gray in the pulpit these days, you’re not alone. Pastors are getting older.

“The aging of pastors represents a substantial crisis for Protestant churches,” David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group, said in remarks included with a report titled “The Aging of America’s Pastors,” released Wednesday.

“In fact, there are now more full-time senior pastors who are over the age 65 than under the age of 40,” he said. “It is urgent that denominations, networks and independent churches determine how to best motivate, mobilize, resource and deploy … younger pastors.”

“It’s not inherently a problem that there are older pastors in positions of leadership,” Kinnaman said in his published remarks. “In fact, younger generations are often looking for wisdom and leadership from established teachers and leaders.”

But there can be challenges.

“The problem arises when today’s pastors do not represent a healthy mix of young, middle age and older leaders,” he said. “For the Christian community to be at its best, it needs intergenerational leaders to move it forward.”

Click here to read the full article.

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About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.

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