Perhaps like me you’ve heard about the declining enrolment in Bible colleges and increasing numbers of young adults abandoning Christian faith.
Or your church might be one of the many having trouble filling a vacant pastoral position due to lack of applicants.
It seems like Canadian churches and other Christian ministries are experiencing a shortage of active leaders and participants.
As a young adult, I’m increasingly concerned about the future of Canadian churches. I spoke with staff at three organizations – Ambassadors for Christ Canada, LIFT Church and the organization I’m interning for, Tearfund Canada – to learn more about the challenges of encouraging people, especially young adults, into ministry involvement.
Decrease in young adult engagement
North American ministry trends appear to be moving in a negative direction when it comes to getting younger generations to become an integral part of ministry.
Barna Research found the median age of U.S. pastors has risen to 54 from 44 in just 25 years (comparing 2017 with 1992). Nearly 70% of these pastors say it’s difficult to find young people interested in pastoral roles.
Evangelical seminary enrolment is also declining, according to a 2022 Ministry Watch report.
Another Barna study (from 2023) notes pastors have so many other urgent priorities that fewer are able to focus on training younger generations than they were a decade ago.
Behind the training issue is the overwhelming trend that two-thirds of people who attended church as teens are dropping out of church as young adults, according to a 2019 Lifeway report. Canadian ministry studies of this trend include Hemorrhaging Faith (from 2012) and Renegotiating Faith (from 2018).
Overcoming hesitation to share leadership
Darren Lung of Toronto, executive director of Ambassadors for Christ (AFC) in Canada, oversees a discipleship and mentorship ministry that works primarily with Canadian teenagers and young adults of East Asian descent. Partnering with local churches, AFC helps students become courageous followers of Jesus by offering discipleship and leadership opportunities.
Lung sees the older generations’ reluctance to work alongside the newer generation as the most significant issue: “Sometimes as adults, we're afraid of the youthful exuberance of young people. But that’s a gift to the Church.”
He notes that it’s often easier for older leaders to maintain control out of fear of failure, rather than allowing young people the space to try, fail and grow. This hesitation to share leadership is one of the leading causes of declining ministry involvement among youth, he explains.
To counter this, AFC intentionally creates leadership opportunities for students such as their annual Teens Conference, a large event planned and led by young people. This experience serves as a "leadership pipeline," where students grow in their leadership skills in a context that honours and glorifies God. Lung’s advice to older leaders is clear: “Share your power, share your privilege and take on a mindset of co-creation with younger people.”
Integrating young people into community
Laura Wallar is a lead pastor at LIFT Church in Hamilton, Ont., which serves on university campuses. LIFT Church was established to fill a gap on campuses, where traditional churches are often absent despite large student populations.
Wallar identifies one large issue regarding youth involvement: many young adults are searching for answers to fundamental questions about identity, belonging and purpose. However, many traditional churches often fail to engage them in ways that address these needs directly. This disconnect contributes to a lack of involvement in ministry and church life by young people.
To address this, LIFT Church intentionally integrates young people into its leadership structure by providing them with hands-on opportunities to serve and lead. For example, students are taken through a training discipleship program to learn how to facilitate Bible studies, and through that they become church leaders. One notable example is a student who felt called by God to transfer to a different university, with the purpose of starting a new campus church community.
“My advice would be to cultivate in youth a commitment to community,” Wallar emphasizes. She advises churches to be proactive in identifying and nurturing the potential within their existing congregations, doing so through building relationships with young people. It is through these relationships that teenagers and young adults understand what commitment looks like, and build trust and love for their community.
She calls on church leaders to foster intentional relationships and create environments where young people can explore their faith, find their place and grow into their ministry roles surrounded by a supportive church community.
Intentionally using internships
Matthew Schroeder, director of marketing and communications at Tearfund Canada in Markham, Ont., explains that one of the biggest barriers to youth involvement in ministry is a lack of information and exposure to ministry careers.
“Your average person doesn’t know the options available in ministry,” he says. Without clear communication about the need for new leaders, young people may not even consider ministry as a viable career path.
To address this gap, Tearfund offers student internships that provide impactful work experience, exposing young adults to a variety of ministry roles. These internships are designed to do more than just offer menial tasks; they give students the chance to work on substantial projects that align with Tearfund’s mission to alleviate poverty by addressing its root causes, including broken relationships with God and others.
Schroeder believes the shortage of engaged youth in ministry is due to a lack of intentionality on the part of the older generation. “We need to envision what we want to see in the world of ministry in 10 or 15 years, and work backwards to prepare for that future,” he says.
This forward-thinking approach requires intentional planning and action today to equip young people for tomorrow’s leadership roles.
Practical steps
Christians are called to proclaim the name of Jesus from generation to generation. Part of doing this involves engaging young people with intentionality, understanding and practical opportunities to build a strong foundation of faith and leadership. Here are some practical steps to revitalize ministry:
- Pray. Jesus encouraged prayer above all else: “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matthew 9:38). We can pray diligently for more workers because young people are our future.
- Be intentional. We can pair prayer with action. What gifts do we have, and what opportunities can we create, to train and encourage young people? Let’s consider what we want to see in our churches in 10 years and start fostering that future now. This could be done through individual mentorship or youth programs at church, for example.
- Make space for co-creation. Sharing leadership with younger generations, despite their inexperience, is crucial for preparing them to excel in their callings.
- Cultivate relationships. Young people begin to understand the importance of community when they experience the care and support of older generations. Mentorship can help young people find their place.
- Educate young people on possibilities. Many young people have not considered the possibility of working within a church. How can we help them see how their gifts can fit into ministry roles?
Together, we can address the challenge of cultivating ministry engagement and ensure our churches continue to thrive with strong, faithful leaders for generations to come.
Miranda Brown of London, Ont., is an intern at Tearfund Canada and a writing and communications student at Redeemer University. Photo courtesy Miranda Brown.