There have been several studies and articles published lately about the current age of pastors, as well as the deficit in the number of pastors being raised up, and called out. If there is not a correction, this will inevitably lead to more and more pastorless churches. H. Richard Niebuhr provided a classic definition of the call to ministry. He describes it as having four parts. 1) The call to be a Christian, which is variously described as the call to discipleship of Jesus Christ, to hearing and doing the Word of God, to repentance and faith, etc. 2) The secret call, namely, the inner persuasion or experience whereby a person feels himself directly summoned or invited by God to take up the work of the ministry; 3) The providential call, which is that invitation and command to assume the work of the ministry which comes through the equipment of a person with the talents necessary for the exercise of the office and through the divine guidance of life by all its circumstances; 4) The ecclesiastical call, that is, the summons and the invitation extended to a man by some community or institution of the church to engage in the work of the ministry. (H. Richard Niebuhr, The Purpose of the Church and Its Ministry, 1956).

The call includes a general call to become a follower of Jesus, the inner prompting to serve God, the equipping of a person to answer the providential call to ministry, and the specific call to serve a body of believers. A renewed sense of calling out the call is needed. God is still calling men to the pastorate, and will not allow His church to go wanting for servant leaders.

What can we do to call out the called?

We can pray. Jesus taught us that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. We are to pray that the Lord of the harvest will raise up laborers to serve in the harvest. There is no need to be desperate, but rather to be dependent on God.

We can provide pathways. Pathways provide opportunities for those who sense a call to engage in ministry and exercise their gifts. Not all will ultimately end up in the pastorate permanently as the call or lack thereof is clarified, but many will.

We can promote church health. A healthy church can provide a culture where those who are called to ministry have reasonably good experiences about what it means to serve God in the local church. The reason many resist ministry, is because they have been in unhealthy churches and are leery of the pain and persecution that can go along with it.

Lord, we depend on you to raise up men to serve as pastors. We need laborers. Grant us wisdom on how to provide pathways to explore a call to ministry. Empower us by your Spirit to plant, build, and multiply healthy churches for the glory of your great name!