The Exodus of the Churches - is the Lack of Preachers the Final Nail in the Coffin?

If you have ever attended a church service, no matter which faith, you will have noticed one important feature: The preacher. There is a person leading the congregation in the worship of God, preaching to them, giving them a message to ponder, to live by, and to carry to others outside of the congregation. The preacher's sermon is the epitome of the worship service. It seems without somebody preaching there can't be a proper worship service at all. Who else would dish out the message of God? It's an important, highly regarded, respectable, very desirable, and well-paid position... or so one would think. But the reality begs to differ. Our churches are facing a crisis. There are many churches but increasingly fewer preachers. After years of struggling with diminishing membership numbers, are the churches now doomed? Is the growing lack of preachers the final nail in the coffin?

Part of the problem obviously lies in exactly what the churches have been struggling with for decades: the steadily decreasing number of members in their congregations. It seems that religion is not important anymore. The older generation was still raised with strong religious beliefs, which included the weekly trip to the Sunday worship service. For most of the younger generation such strict religious rituals are stuffy. And even though they may be faithful, they still don't deem it necessary to regularly attend worship service or to be a member of a church. And for some the worship of God is plain and simply a thing of the past.

Consequently the numbers of faithful, the numbers of those attending worship service, and the number of those who are members of a church have steadfastly declined over the last few decades. Preachers facing such a dilemma have yet to figure out what to do about it. Unless they possess the charisma of a televangelist, they don't seem to stand a chance. Some preachers even take drastic measures and 'threads' to get their herd to attend worship service.

The decline in church membership is worsened by the fact that the average age of those faithfully attending worship service is getting older and older. And the same appears to be true for the preachers. Partially to blame for the 'aging church' is of course is the increase in the average lifespan of the average American. Another reason is the introduction of birth control pills and the resulting dramatic decline in births in the 60s and 70s. Naturally there are fewer young people around than there used to be. With the number of the faithful diminishing and the number of church members deteriorating it is only the logic consequence that the number of preachers is going down as well.

Furthermore, preaching used to be a lifetime commitment. This changed with the introduction of retirement funds. Unfortunately, with the baby boomers nearing retirement age, a larger than usual number of preachers will also seek out the bliss of retirement leaving vacancies behind that churches are struggling to fill. Especially smaller churches are hit hard by this problem. They have to endure long periods of vacancies behind the pulpit struggling even to find interim or lay ministers to fill the gap.

This still begs the question, why even among the faithful and especially those actively participating in worship and congregational affairs is hardly anybody willing to become a preacher. What gives? Why is the profession of a preacher undesirable for today's young generation?

For starters, although he/she is essentially the leader of the congregation and somebody everybody looks up to and turns to for advice, the job of a preacher is not a high paying one. The average salary can range from $29,000 for beginners to around $59,000 for veteran preachers. There are usually allowances for housing and car, but those are generally not that high either. Within bigger congregations and mass churches where there is a hierarchy of preachers, bigger figures are possible, but for the most part the preacher job is not advancement or career oriented. Especially smaller denominations offer little room for a preacher to 'climb the ladder' so to speak. Generally, an average preacher can live comfortably. However, a luxurious life is probably not in the cards.

Add to that the hours a preacher has to keep. The preacher not only delivers the Sunday sermon as guidance for his/her congregation, but also has to be available 24/7 if a member of the congregation or even a faithful non-member may need him/her. While preachers often do keep regular office hours, death for example does not, nor do other lifetime crisis that require immediate intervention. Many preachers work far beyond a regular 40-hour week.

Taking care of the needs of a congregation can be emotionally, psychologically, and physically draining. A preacher has to be able to switch gears from a joyous and happy occasion such as a baptism or wedding to a depressing and sad one such as a funeral or visit of the very sick. Many faithful seek guidance from a preacher for lifetime decisions, problems with the family or the career, financial problems, emotional problems, relationship problems... seems like a preachers has to be a 'Jack-of-all-trades' of sorts in order to provide a congregation with the support it needs. Not everybody is cut out to fill such a position. Not everybody can deal with stress like that for a prolonged amount of time. It takes a special and particularly faithful, calm, and patient person to be a good preacher.

Yet, the young generation today has often been raised on instant gratification concepts. They want to reap the benefits of their labor as quickly as possible, be successful. They find the preaching job too stressful and unsatisfying. It's the 'me-generation'. Who has time for other people's problems? Life is busy enough just trying to keep up with family, friends, and fun things to do. There is simply no space for a job like that of a preacher. Who wants to be available 24/7? Who wants to work long hours for comparably little compensation?

They say the job of a preacher is a 'calling'. Yet, it seems like there are less people than ever to fit the job description, and even less to actually hear and heat the calling.

With the older generation's preachers retiring and the younger generation's potential preachers not wanting to enter the profession in the quantities necessary to keep the churches going, it seems like the churches are doomed. They can try and make due. They can deal with prolonged periods of interim and lay preachers. But without a 'shepherd' to keep the flock together, it will be hard to keep it together. They can try and merge with other congregations, share preachers, experiment with some sort of concept that might work out. But in the long run, if nothing drastic is done to increase membership, to increase the possibility of grooming a preacher, to make the job of a preacher more attractive to today's young generation... As of now though it seems the churches are in a downward spiral. In the long run especially the smaller churches will have to close their doors. Looks like many churches may indeed be doomed!