Leadership Latest - Sept 2006

Back to Statistics Index

Leadership Trends

According to figures from Christian Research there were 34,400 ministers in 2005 for the UK’s 47,600 churches – 1.4 churches to every minister.

Some denominations, mostly Anglicans and Methodists, share ministers across several churches, whereas other denominations, especially Pentecostal ones, are taking more part-time ministers to salvage the shortage.

Gender and age
The proportion of female ministers in the UK was 7% in 1992, but rose to 12% by 2005.

• In 2000 Roman Catholics and Orthodox had no women ministers.
• The Salvation Army ministerial ranks included over 50% women. T
• he United Reformed Church had 22%;
• Methodists 19%;
• Church of Scotland 15%;
• Church of England 12%.

Duration of ministry
In 2003, the average length of service as a minister in the same post was 10 years.

• Those in independent churches stayed the longest, with an average of 15 years.
• Methodists stayed an average of 7 years.

Both the age and length of ministry are important for church growth, according to a recent survey of Anglican ministers.

• Growth is most likely to occur when the minister has been in a post for 7 to 9 years.
• Growth is also most likely when the minister is either in his/her early 40s or in his/her 60s.

Future trends
The overall trend for the number of ministers in the UK is downwards, so that by 2040 there might be only 26,000 ministers.

The most pronounced decline is among the institutional churches:

• Very few are entering into the Catholic priesthood, and those already serving average the oldest of all ministers. A
• Anglican numbers are also in decline, but will be compensated by an increased number of non-ordained or locally-ordained readers or ministers appointed to serve in specific congregations.

There is an increase of independent church ministers, but exclusively among Pentecostals, whose congregations continue to grow, especially in black majority or other ethnic minority churches.

• Independent church ministers made up 41% of the bulk of UK ministers in 2000.
• They are projected to make up 72% of all UK ministers by 2040.

Research by Dr Peter Brierley. Reported in Prophecy Today, July/August 2006.
 

The Call to ministry

According to a survey carried out by Evangelicals Now in 2005, a third of young men interested in ministry or already active in ministry are confused about what constitutes a ‘call’ to full-time Christian work.

Support and guidance
The survey, which polled 400 men between the ages of 21 and 40 who had recently started out in full-time ministry, were in some sort of training or were at the stage of considering full-time ministry, asked respondents to agree or disagree with particular statements regarding the support or guidance they received when considering ministry.

Some results were as follows:

• 73% felt a sense of calling is necessary to enter full-time ministry. 17% didn’t.
• 59% denied being confused over what constitutes ‘a call’ to full-time Christian work, but 29% admitted experiencing this confusion.
• 69% found their church was committed to seeking out and training young men. 20% found the opposite was true.
• 56% said they were being discipled or mentored by a Christian leader. 35% had received no mentoring or discipling from Church leaders.
• 61% of respondents received regular feedback on their preaching. 29% didn’t.
• 46% did not believe there is a reluctance in the Church to give young men preaching opportunities in case they fail, but 35% did.

Confused about ‘calling’
Further analysis of respondents’ particular circumstances found that the great majority of those further down the road of full-time ministry are less confused about their calling.

• 10% of those who had been in ministry for more than 5 years, however, were still confused about what constitutes ‘the call’.
• 41% of respondents who were seriously considering full-time ministry admitted being confused to some extent.
• 55% of those uncertain about full-time ministry were also confused about what constitutes a ‘call’.

Church training for young leaders
Responses to the statement ‘my church is committed to seeking out and training young men’ showed that:

• 75% of those who were in training or preparing to enter training had felt their church’s support.
• 30% of those who had been in ministry for more than 5 years, however, disagreed with the statement.

Comments
Some of the respondents added the following:

‘The question of what constitutes a call to the ministry is very important. People tend to emphasise the subjective and ignore the objective advice of others or viceversa. Where does the balance lie? Is the oft given advice “Don’t enter the ministry if you can do anything else” helpful and biblical advice? Equally, isn’t it a mistake to approach the ministry in the same way as any other job?’

‘The notion of a ‘calling’ to ministry is a major barrier to, and distraction from, the recruitment of pastors and teachers.’

‘The main reason many young men do not enter ministry is that they have rejected the model of calling that begins with a subjective sense of call, which must then be tested by the church… many young men prefer to let God take the initiative through the church leadership.’

‘If lads aren’t tried out, discipled and given detailed feedback, how will they get any sense of call? There needs to be a discerning willingness to seek out the men God is calling.’

Reported in Evangelicals Now, April 2006.
 

Pastors are Stressed

In 2005 Evangelicals Now carried out a survey asking ministers to comment on their experience of stress, ‘writer’s block’ for sermons, depression, anger, family tension, sexual temptation and loneliness. Answers from respondents, including Church of England ministers, pastors of independent evangelical churches, Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists and Church of Scotland ministers, established stress as the issue pastors struggle with the most.

At least some times
When asked if they experienced problems with any of the above ‘at least sometimes’.

• 98% admitted suffering from stress; 
• 86% said they felt depressed;
• 83% said they felt angry;
• 82% had experienced family tensions;
• 82% admitted struggling with sexual temptations;
• 70% had had writer’s block,
• and 63% had felt lonely.

Often or always
When asked which problems they struggled with ‘often or always’ responses varied significantly. 

• 47% said they were stressed;
• 26% felt lonely;
• 15% struggled with sexual temptation;
• 14% battled with family tensions;
• 14% felt depressed;
• 11% had had writer’s block,
• and 6% had feelings of anger.

The respondents
The mean age of respondents was 51 and the median 49. Most of the younger men who responded to the survey were Anglicans, and the majority were married men. Their average length of service was 21 years.

Problems varied with congregation size.

• Pastors feeling depressed reduced dramatically as the regular numbers in the congregation exceeded 250 people.
• ‘Writer’s block’ occurred more often to pastors in congregations with 250 members or over.
• Those in churches of 60 members or under were more prone to depression and more likely to suffer from loneliness.

Reported in Evangelicals Now, July 2005.
 

Church of England Resignations

According to analysis of Anglican records of appointments, resignations and retirements of ministers for the years 2000 to 2003 by Christian Research:

• The average number of resignations per year (not retirements) was 29 vicars and 27 curates per year.
• The annual rate of resignations was 0.6%, or one person in every 170.
• Resignations among vicars peaked during the ages of 55 to 59 – the age at which, according to other research, fewest clergy are responsible for a growing church. Ministers who stay on until they are in their 60s are much more likely to see their churches grow.
• Resignations peak during the ages of 55 and 64 for curates, and additionally between the ages of 35 and 39.
• Twice as many resignations take place in the months of August, September and October than other times of the year.
• Few resignations occur in March and December, when the celebration of Easter and Christmas are just ahead.

Research by Dr Peter Brierley. Reported in the Church of England Newspaper, 14 July 2006.
 

Call for Fair Wages

Church Action on Poverty is calling upon churches to pay their employees, lay or ordained a Living Wage of at least £7.25 an hour in London and £6.80 an hour elsewhere in the UK from 1 October 2006.

Niall Cooper, National Coordinator of CAP said “Churches and other employers have a duty to pay their employees a living wage, at a level that enables workers to enjoy life in all its fullness. We call on all churches, charities and other major employers to raise the pay level of their lowest paid staff. We are sending out a clear message that the Church cannot tolerate low pay and poverty. In paying our employees a living wage we are making a clear stand against poverty.”

The Living Wage was originally set at £5.80 an hour (£6.30 in London) in March 2002. The new figures also enable the Living Wage to keep pace with the increase in average wage rates over the period, according to figures from Income Data Services. The increased also reflects the latest research undertaken in London on the basis of which the Mayor of London announced a London rate of £7.05 in May (subsequently adjusted up by CAP to reflect wage inflation over the intervening five months).

The National Minimum Wage, set to rise from £5.05 to £5.35 from October 2006, although welcome, still does not raise families with children about the poverty line. The Living Wage figure reflects the true cost of a ‘low cost but acceptable’ budget, based on research conducted for the Zacchaeus Trust by the Family Budget Unit of London University.

Church Action on Poverty, 6 September 2006.