Church Size and Pastor Availability

“Among Protestant churches, 27 percent of the clergy are part-time. A church typically needs two hundred members to afford a full-time minister, and many obviously fall short. The remarkable variation in sizes of churches, in fact, bedevils modern ministry as much as anything.

In America today, just 10 percent of clergy serve “large” churches with 350 members or more, and the result is that one tenth of all clergy preach to one half of all churchgoers. The lopsided corollary is just as remarkable. Half of all clergy do the preaching to just 11 percent of churchgoers. These churchgoers belong to congregations with fewer than one hundred members.” From the book Who Shall Lead Them? By Larry A. Witham

As the economies of church existence continue to grow increasingly difficult with rising mortgage costs and the potential for dwindling giving as the boomers age, look for many creative approaches to “filling the pulpit” in years to come.

Southern Baptist report that over 40% of their churches already employ “bi-vocational” ministers; those ministers who primarily preach on Sundays with reduced pastoral responsibilities during the week while holding another full-time job. Bi-vocational positions will become more attractive to pastors who have been unable to balance their “calling” with lower salaries that did not provide adequate income to support their family. Look also for a newly called supply of pastor's for bi-vocational positions to come from retired or semi-retired laity desiring a more dedicated impact in ministry.

In some regards, look for bi-vocational churches to experience an increase in ministry effectiveness as church members are required to participate more directly in the day-to-day affairs of the church. The experience felt by larger churches of membership disconnect and raised expectations of the full-time or "fully funded" pastoral team to fulfill daily ministry can be minimized under a bi-vocational format.

It is likely, that smaller churches will begin to join forces integrating multiple congregations under one church to increase the affordability of hiring a full-time staff. Look for bible churches and denominations of similar belief to be the first to integrate.

An entrepreneur approach to church will continue to increase as those called to full-time service organize and control their own church start-up with a closely held board and governing documents that prevent their termination for control issues. Their “success” in terms of church growth will fuel the capacity to remain “employed” at above market salary rates. Look also for an extension of the traditional church model to include external non-profit efforts centered at a church that have an international ministry emphasis.

Bi-vocational training programs, many web-based, will likely spring up providing “bi-vo” pastors resources, training and access to a network of those in similar circumstances.

Courtesy of Trend Ping