Many mainline denominations face or will soon face clergy shortages. As a result several denominations have and others are in the process of creating guidelines that allow multiple paths to ministry especially to facilitate providing enough clergy to fill pastoral positions in smaller congregations. Young clergy in their twenties and thirties are increasingly rare and makeup a small percentage of the clergy in any given denominational tradition, especially in traditions where a seminary education is a prerequisite to ordination.
In the 1950s the typical pattern was that new seminarians were recent college graduates in their early to mid-twenties. Since that time, the age of these students has risen considerably and a number of seminaries have attracted primarily older students who are exploring ministry as a second or third career. Interestingly, the Center for the Study of Theological Education (CSTE) at Auburn Seminary finds that after several decades the trend toward older seminarians has reversed. The median age of those enrolled in Master of Divinity programs over the last twenty years:
- 1989: 31.40
- 1999: 34.14
- 2009: 32.19
So What?
There are many possible explanations for the shift to a lower median age for seminarians including the economy, a greater number of twenty-somethings in the population now than ten or twenty years ago, and intentional programs by denominations and seminaries to attract younger students. While it is likely these and other factors together help explain the shift, no one knows if or for how long the trend may continue.
What gifts do younger clergy, especially those in their twenties and thirties, offer the church? How might the church be hindered if these voices are absent? How might the church be enriched by these voices? What does your congregation do to encourage young adults in the discernment process that might lead to seminary studies? to support those in seminary?