This is an excerpt from Leadership Transitions.

Mentoring Tomorrow’s Pastors

As pastors of today’s churches age, the need to mentor younger leaders who can lead into the future is becoming ever more acute. According to Barna tracking data published in The State of Pastors (2017), the average age of pastors increased by 10 years between 1992 and 2017 (from 44 to 54). The generational spread also shifted during that time. While one in three pastors in 1992 was under 40, by 2017 the proportion had shrunk to one in seven. Meanwhile, the percentage of those over 65 increased more than three times; today, there are more pastors over 65 than under 40.

Two out of three current pastors believe identifying suitable candidates is becoming more difficult (69%). About one-quarter agrees strongly that “it’s harder to find mature young Christians who want to be pastors” (24%), and a larger contingent agrees somewhat (45%).

While only 18 percent strongly agree that “a lot of young leaders seem to think other kinds of work are more important than vocational ministry,” more than half agree somewhat (52%).

Developing suitable young candidates for vocational ministry requires a concerted effort on the part of current pastors and churchgoers, and roughly one in five pastors strongly agrees their church “puts a significant priority on training and developing the next generation of church leaders” (22%). Almost half agree somewhat (47%).

How are they developing future leaders? Nearly three in 10 say they hired young staff and / or elected young members to leadership roles (28%), or offered training classes, camps or conferences (27%). One in six reports mentoring a young potential leader (19%), one in nine offered internships or “shadow” roles (11%) and one in 10 led small groups on discipleship and leadership (10%). Slightly rarer actions include giving encouragement and guidance to those who are considering leadership (9%) and putting resources into the youth ministry (7%).

However church leaders put it into action, identifying and training future leaders must be one aspect of preparing for eventual succession.