Thrive, the Christian Reformed Church ministry focused on equipping and supporting congregations across the denomination, tracks and helps churches in their pastor search process. The number of churches with a pastoral vacancy—those actively searching to fill it—is about 18% of the total number of organized congregations. That’s 146 across the denomination. But it's a snapshot in time. “These numbers are quite fluid and are hard to keep updated,” said Trudy Ash, Thrive's regional connector for the U.S. Midwest and the Connect Team leader.
However, starting about a year ago, Thrive's regional connectors have been working to stay engaged with vacant congregations in their respective regions, Ash said, “in an effort to support both the church in a vacancy—including pulpit supply, leadership support, etc.—as well as to support the search teams—including (congregation) profile creation, advertising, best practices, and tips for a healthy search process, etc.”
Ash pointed out that the number of vacancies indicates a need for leadership development. “Somehow, we as individuals and congregations need to do a better job of encouraging, mentoring, and guiding people into the ministry,” Ash said. She’s seeing that begin to happen. “Here in the Midwest, Thrive and Resonate regional staff are supporting local classis leaders and pastors in their efforts to raise up a new generation of church leaders.”
Number of vacant churches by region:
