To kick off this four-part series on mobilizing the next generation, Apex director David Boerema highlighted a growing issue in the American church, one that spans across movements and denominations:
“The reality is stark: fewer young people are stepping into vocational ministry, and the current generation of pastors is aging rapidly.”
Barna and Christianity Today have also dedicated time in recent years to researching and writing about this growing concern—the “empty pulpit crisis,” as it’s often called. In the subsequent articles in this series, Amy Medina and Jennifer Kvamme brought additional perspectives, strategies and solutions to the problem.
To close, I want to ask—and answer—the core question I hope every EFCA leader is asking: What can I do to help mobilize a new generation of leaders for the Church?
Gable’s story
Emerging adults need respected adults to communicate belief in them. When that happens, it unlocks motivation, confidence and purpose that often wouldn’t be there otherwise.
Let me introduce you to Gable. He’s 18 years old. When Gabe was 10, his father died of leukemia. Since then, his mother has done an incredible job raising him on her own. She is a strong woman whose faith and perseverance inspire everyone who knows her, including Gable. Despite the terrible trial of losing his father, Gable is a young man with a deep faith in Jesus. He is also a young man with a clear calling on his life, and I would like to tell you why:
Because people in his church communicated the potential they saw in him.
They saw that Gable loved God. They also saw his deep love for people, his great sense of humor and his passion for youth group. And they didn’t just see it—they told Gable what they saw in him. His mother, his youth pastor and others in the church all separately and repeatedly told him the same thing: “Gable, you would make a great youth pastor.”
Fast forward nine years. Gable is about to begin his freshman year at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. He’s studying Christian Ministries and participating in a robust, two-year youth ministry internship at Compass Church (EFCA) in Goodyear, Arizona. Based on all that, I’ll let you guess what Gable intends to do with his life.
Who are the “Gables” in your church?
Gable’s story is a beautiful example—full of both pain and purpose—of how God set apart a young man to serve Him in vocational ministry. Now that you know part of his story, I want to ask you a question: Why do you think Gable ended up choosing to become a youth pastor? Yes, there’s likely more than one answer, but I want to highlight one in particular: People in his life communicated the potential they saw in him.
Emerging adults (young people ages 10–25) are all wrestling with different versions the same three core questions:
- Who am I?
- Where do I fit?
- What difference can I make?
EFCA church leaders, my question for you is this: Are you—or others in your church—actively communicating to emerging adults the potential you see in them? Who are the “Gables” in your church who just need someone to see their potential—and say something about it?
I’ve been a youth pastor for 23 years. During that time, I’ve personally trained and mobilized many youth pastors and leaders. Through it all, I’ve learned a lot about serving, leading, training and sending emerging generations. And one truth I’ve seen time and time again is this: Emerging adults need respected adults to communicate belief in them. When that happens, it unlocks motivation, confidence and purpose that often wouldn’t be there otherwise.
Ask yourself: Is there a student in your church whom you believe God may be calling into vocational ministry? Does that student know you feel that way?
So, what if I told you that the answer to the question—“What can I do to help mobilize a new generation of leaders for the church?”—was as simple as creating a culture in your church where leaders regularly communicate the potential they see in young people?
Perhaps you’ve noticed a student in your youth group other students naturally follow. Or a student that excels at teaching or leading in your kids ministry. Maybe all you’ve done to this point is notice a student with potential. If that’s the case, the simple next step is to tell them what you’ve noticed! You have no idea how God might use such a simple thing to motivate a teenager to think about where God might be calling them.
- Ask yourself: Is there a student in your church whom you believe God may be calling into vocational ministry?
- Ask yourself: Does that student know you feel that way?
- If not, tell them.
An act of encouragement as simple as that could unlock in them a new level of belief, motivation and purpose. At the very least, it shows them they are seen by the leaders in their church. And it just might be the spark that helps them recognize a calling that God has placed on their life.