Where Have the Timothys Gone? 4 Ways to Address the Minister Drought

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As an Australian, I’m all too familiar with the terrible conditions of drought. When the creeks and rivers run dry and the land burns beneath the blazing sun, the result is devastating. As farmers will tell you, it’s hard to produce a fruitful harvest when the weather is stacked against you.

I lament to say that I believe we are experiencing a similar kind of drought in various places around the world—one for the next harvest of gospel workers. As I survey my immediate ecclesiastical landscape, I see that seminary enrollments are down, more churches than ever have vacancies in key positions, the demand for part-time ministers in children’s and youth ministries is increasing, and it often feels far harder to convince people to consider a career in vocational Christian ministry.

It seems for many the cost of entering ministry, including the training required for it, is prohibitive, and the viability of vocational ministry is called into question. Let’s be honest: A career in finance is likely far more lucrative than one in the “industry of faith,” and more innovation is happening in the tech sector than in children’s ministry. When you add to this the high rate of burnout among ministry workers and the growing difficulty of retaining clergy, the picture shifts from dreadful to dire.

Maybe things are just a little bit darker in my part of the world, in secular Australia. But others should not think themselves immune to this depletion of Christian ministers. The drought may well reach your churches, too. While I have no doubt that this decline in the supply of Christian ministers will be expressed differently across regions—from Auckland to Singapore to Tallahassee—I anticipate it will have detrimental effects, with both immediate and long-term consequences for churches and their ministries.

Consequently, we need more ministry apprentices preparing to labor in the Lord’s vineyard. We need people training for ministry—in churches and para-church contexts, whether urban, rural, or overseas. Yet the workers are fewer than ever.

I keep asking: Where have all the ministry apprentices gone? Where are the mentors and their mentees? Where are the Timothys and Phoebes who will lead the church into the twenty-first century? Or as one of my colleagues has opined, “Who is going to lead my funeral?”

In this article, I seek to address this ministry apprentice drought and offer four practical tips on what we can do about it.

1. Think beyond full-time ministry

In the religious landscape of current urban centers in the West, it may be time to examine alternative models of ministry, including bi-vocational ministry. Working part-time to support oneself in pastoral ministry, college ministry, overseas mission, or youth ministry is not unprecedented in church history. In fact, much of the ministry described in the book of Acts and the letters of Paul could be characterized as “tentmaking ministry,” a ministry carried out alongside one’s primary vocation (Acts 18:1–3). We should not assume that ministry must always be full-time.

In addition, we should re-emphasize the role of laypeople in the life of the church, especially since, on my guesstimate, they probably perform about 80 percent of the ministry work. Leading a healthy ministry is not a one-person show. It takes an entire church to operate ministries. These depend on volunteers, part-time assistants, and full-time leaders. Rather than operating under a model in which clergy are the producers of ministry and the laity its consumers, we should view ministry as a collaborative effort between clergy and laypeople.

That said, I remain a strong believer in full-time vocational ministry and for substantial training to support it. We do, after all, find references in the Bible to those who are enabled to dedicate themselves fully to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:1–4), as well as to those who lead through preaching and teaching (1 Tim 5:17). Some ministries and roles in the church are best carried out by individuals with the necessary experience, expertise, and character.

Think about it: If you had a critical heart condition, would you want a cardiologist with twenty-five years of experience or an amateur who had read a few medical journals and watched some YouTube videos on bypass surgery? Likewise, we all have heart issues, whether broken or hardened, and we need people who can come along and heal, strengthen, and renew them with the truth of the gospel. When it comes to medicine, sometimes you need a first-aider, sometimes a paramedic, sometimes a nurse, sometimes an ER doctor, and sometimes a neurologist. If you only have first-aid assistants, you will be out of your depth when trying to diagnose leukemia or treat dysentery. Interest and enthusiasm are great, but they are not always sufficient.

As with medicine, so too with ministry: training, mentoring, and experience matter. We need dedicated ministers in various fields not only to do the work of ministry, but to train the next generation to whom they will pass the baton.

2. Work to make yourself replaceable

One effective way to ensure job security in Christian ministry is to make yourself irreplaceable! I’ve known churches and ministries where everything centers around one person, who, either because of insecurity of being replaced or a hubris that nobody is worthy of replacing them, refuses to appoint a deputy or a successor.

I once served on a pastoral search committee. I’ll never forget one particular interview. The candidate initially seemed promising. But when I asked what arrangements he would make for his replacement at his current church if he accepted our position, he looked at me with a sense of confusion and annoyance. “It wouldn’t be my problem or my concern,” he replied. “If the church closes, it closes. Nothing to do with me after I resign.” That response might be acceptable from someone moving from one dog food company to another. It is not an acceptable attitude for one seriously committed to the cure of souls and the building up of the church.

A responsible minister must work to make themselves dispensable and plan their redundancy.

A responsible minister must work to make themselves dispensable and plan their redundancy. Whether due to illness, a new calling, or retirement, it is part of a gospel minister’s role to identify and train a potential successor while still in the position. Neglecting that responsibility is both professionally negligent and pastorally irresponsible. Worse, preferring that a ministry cease rather than continue without you is a sign of a heart warped by pride.

So how do you begin identifying future gospel ministers and training your successors?

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3. Raise up new ministers

Timothys and Phoebes won’t be found lying around waiting to be picked up like candy from a piñata. Future ministry apprentices must be developed. You’ll have to grow them, nourish them, and prune them. Cultivating the future leaders of the church involves the following steps.

i. Identify prospects

Whether you work with youth, seniors, or the middle-aged, look for people who take their faith seriously, exhibit Christlike character, and demonstrate potential for training.

They don’t have to be perfect—and they certainly do not have to be carbon copies of yourself. Look for giftedness and godliness, a willingness to serve, and a hunger to learn.

ii. Affirm & encourage

One of the most impactful things you can do is affirm people in the ways they’re already serving in the church or its ministries. Help them imagine what it might look like to serve in a larger capacity.

Through encouragement, and after taking interest in their testimony and talents and generally just getting to know them, you can eventually get to the point of having a conversation with them along the lines of, “Have you ever considered X?” Sometimes it just takes a valued friend or minister to say, “I could really see you serving and thriving in doing X in the future.”

iii. Grant opportunities

Give people permission to try new ministry experiences—to find their feet, to get a taste for ministry, and even to make a hash of it and learn from the experience.

Offer these opportunities in a fair and controlled environment where expectations are very clear that someone is being trained and mentored.

iv. Provide mentoring

Apply the three Es of mentoring. Every potential apprentice needs a combination of equipping, encouragement, and empowerment.

Equipping will involve learning certain things about the Bible, the basics of theology, how to interact with people, administration, and more. It includes a mix of skill-based learning, theological education, personal development, and periods of reflection and supervision.
Encouragement includes giving constructive feedback, helping them get better at what they’re doing so they can develop both confidence and joy in what they’re doing.
Empowerment means recognizing their giftedness, acknowledging their role and achievements, and giving them the resources they need to fulfill their assigned tasks.

Much of this work can be done inside a church or Christian organization. But some of it, whether that’s theological education, developing specialized ministry skills, or learning a foreign language, may need to be outsourced.

4. Teach on calling & vocation

Finally, work to foster a culture of ministry training by regularly teaching within your church or organization what it means to have a sense of calling.

Not everyone needs a Damascus Road experience to be called into Christian ministry. Most of the time, calling is a matter of desire and commitment to some ministry. It’s a sense of discovering one’s place in God’s purpose, discerned both by the individual and by those around them who know them and are training them.

We also need to broaden people’s awareness of the varieties of Christian vocation that are possible to serve in. Senior pastor or “head honcho” is not the only role in Christian ministry—and certainly not the one that everyone should aspire after. The church needs chaplains in hospitals and the military, people who work in private and public schools as teachers, the ministries of justice and mercy, missionaries both foreign and domestic, hospice care workers, counselors loving those with mental health challenges, and leaders finding ways to connect the gospel with young people, training them in the wisdom of the Lord. The church is filled with a diverse number of people with diverse gifts precisely so that this diverse array of ministries can be filled with the right people.

Help break the ministry apprentice drought!

When I think about mission, ministry, and mentoring, one verse always comes to mind: “He [Jesus] is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ” (Col 1:28).

The ultimate end of Christian ministry is not merely to bring people to Christ, but to bring them to maturity in Christ. That means helping people discover their worth, realize their potential, find their place in God’s plan, and learn how to use their God-given gifts for God’s glory. To do that, Christian organizations and churches must develop a culture of finding, encouraging, and training a new generation of leaders for a variety of ministries.

Now is the time to plant seeds.

Now is the time to tap people on the shoulder.

Now is the time to find your Timothy and Phoebe.

Now is the time to pray that the Lord will make it rain with men and women stirred by a passion to glorify God in holy service.