Here are USA/Canada basic stats for the Church of the Nazarene: There are 78 Districts, 4,316 churches,11,103 elders, 2,134 district licensed ministers, 515 deacons and 364,029 worshipping the Lord every week. That means the total of elders, deacons and district licensed ministers is 13,752 clergy. When crunching those numbers that means, there is:
- One clergyperson for every 27 people who are showing up on a Sunday morning.
- There were 21987 baptisms last year or one clergyperson for a little over one and a half baptisms.
- 19466 people were received into membership by profession of faith (not a sheep changing pastures but a new believer) or one clergyperson for a little under one and a half of those new believers.
Permission to write freely: These are not great numbers. I know the attendance numbers have increased the last two years. That’s good. First time in 50 years (or something like that) that USA/Canada has had two consecutive years of growth. Good. Good. Double good! But crunching the numbers a little more shows some things that aren’t totally great.
What are the 13,752 pastors doing? Seriously? What. Are. We. Doing. (I’ve put myself in this discussion because I am one of those 13,752 clergypersons).
I’m not sure how many of the 13,752 clergy are unable to serve in any meaningful way. Maybe they are in a nursing home or too sick to lead a person to Jesus. Sometimes, where a person is serving is difficult. It’s not fertile ground. Didn’t Elmer F. Schmelzenbach go years and years before his first convert in Africa? So maybe some of my clergy brothers and sisters might be in tough circumstances. I get it. It’s not always easy.
But come on… Not even two baptisms per pastor? Less than that of those who led a person to start following Jesus. If I didn’t know better, I’d say there is an evangelism problem amongst me and my fellow pastors. Could I say it this way, the numbers show a lack of evangelistic fervor amongst the clergy in the USA/Canada region. Again, there are spots where true evangelism is happening. A few churches here and there are doing great things for the Kingdom. At a recent district assembly, it was reported that nearly half of that district’s baptisms were from one church. Hooray for that that one church, but to the rest of us, I want to say, “C’mon! Get Going!”
Obviously, it’s not all on the pastors to do all the evangelizing in a church. We are protestants after all. We still believe in the priesthood of all believers. But if there are 13,000+ clergy, wouldn’t you think that there would be a higher percentage of converts? We still believe that people are hurting, lonely, and lost. We still believe that Jesus is the answer. We still believe that without Him people are eternally doomed. Where’s the urgency?
I’m praying that in my new role with the Nazarene Bible College and in creating a Center to help pastors, that I will be available to make a difference. I hope to help lead in evangelism, holiness, integrity, connectivity, generosity, and stewardship. Good News for pastors: Help is on the way (in other words).
In the meantime, my fellow pastors, can we make it a goal, a personal goal, to win and baptize two, just two people in the coming year. Imagine if we set the example and folks in our churches started following suit, and they started to pray and then evangelize a person or two who doesn’t know Jesus. Do you know what will happen? Revival just might break out. Set the example pastors! Let’s reach people for Jesus! Let’s pray for revival!
My Two Cent Offering 
Thank you for the prodding! When I retired in a town without a Nazarene Church I had no idea I would get so disconnected. I truly feel like I have been discarded by my district. I could not afford the cost of going to the District Assembly, so I e-mailed my D.S. to let him know. I didn’t even get a response. When my father-in-law was a D.S. he sent a letter to every church and encouraged them to be responsible for sending any retired Elder in their congregation to the Assembly. That should be a common practice.
Every word you wrote about neglecting evangelim is true. I have not been bearing fruit lately and my heart hurts because of that failure. Again I say thanks for the prodding.
May God give you wisdon and insight as you put together your new ministry at NBC, I graduated from NBC in 1972. I truly loved my time there.
Pastor Jim Norcross
Jim we will attempt to bridge the gap for pastors and pastors-in-training and those like yourself who are retired. Our DSs are overworked often and while I believe they desire to connect with their pastors and retired pastors sometimes the daily duties leave them little time. I hope the Center can step in and help!
Hey Rob, with all due respect, while I admire the evangelistic fervor, I do think I have some qualms.
What I am not saying is that pastors shouldn’t have an evangelical inclination. I think we should. However what I am also saying is that “rubbing more elbow grease” will not resolve these issues. They will take time and they will require self-reflection on the part of ecclesiastical bodies and their clergy. We need to take this time to take a hard look in the mirror and repent of the pain and loss that we and our predecessors have caused.
Anders I do not disagree that reaching today’s generation is more difficult than in the past. Overcoming real or perceived hurt is a hurdle. Moreover I stated that not all ground is fertile and it is the church and its people that must evangelize— not the pastor alone.
I don’t disagree that we can/should have a more consistent theology of the sacraments. Personally it is my belief that Jesus called us to baptize and that is the number with which we should be most concerned.
Still the issues are not insurmountable obstacles. I still believe that people are looking for real authentic faith. They are hungry. Moreover, there is power in the Gospel. The prevenient grace of God is still drawing people. It takes time. It’s building relationships. It’s inviting people to coffee and into one’s home. It’s living humble authentic Christianity before our neighbors. It’s allowing God to open doors.
I’m not suggesting we win the world. I’m saying find two people. Two kids in the neighborhood. Two struggling teenagers. Two overworked parents. Two lonely seniors. Two recently released felons. Two struggling addicts. The possibilities are endless. Finding two people who need Jesus doesn’t seem like a very high bar for most of us.
Jesus called us to love our neighbors. I think we could start there.
Rob,
This evaluation might seem harsh, but I will keep it short and try to be charitable.
I was a pastor for 15 years starting back in the early 80s. I always understood my role to be a servant. I appreciated that role and it kept me humble for quite some time and I enjoyed serving others and realizing that that was my place, and it was a privilege to do so.
I see a real mode shift today in the leadership of the Nazarene hierarchy as it is communicated through district superintendent to pastors, and it is a complete role shift yesterday at DS spoke at a church in which the Pastor just left for a three months sabbatical and he reminded the church that they needed to keep in mind of what they could do for the Pastor and communicate that to on a continued basis he said that it might seem unusual for pastors to have long sabbaticals of this nature, but if they wanted to have something like that, and we’re wondering why they didn’t have it in their career path that they should become a pastor so they can enjoy the same benefit.
I see a real attitude, change and pastors today whereby they are the dog which wags the tail the tail being the church. I don’t know where they got the idea that they were not servants anymore unless it’s being intentionally communicated from Nazarene hierarchy leadership to me. This seems to be the case and I think it’s appalling. I have a real hard for pastors, and I know being a pastor is not an easy job, but the idea that you are no longer servant, and that the people are servants to you is the main reason I think that they are so little growth in the church today by every measure where have all the humble servant Pastor’s gone? There needs to be a shake up in our seminary and or our Bible college. This is my take again. It may seem harsh, but this is what I see. I mean this with all due respect to you and the church of Nazarene. Have a great day I really appreciate your insights and all that you have to add
God’s best to you
Dave Freese.
Dave, your comments are not harsh. Maybe the DS didn’t communicate effectively on the benefits for the church and pastor of a healthy sabbatical. Be that as it may, I think most pastors (certainly not all) do have a servant attitude. I haven’t met many who feel entitled. No Nazarene pastor I know is getting rich being a pastor (my blog today). In fact, many are barely making enough to survive. 68% of churches in USA are under 100 people. The average size is less than 70. 1 in 4 pastors have seriously thought about walking away. All this to say, pastoring is a calling and I believe most pastors are living into that calling– willingly and with a servant’s attitude.
Thanks again for your perspective Rob,
You are always successful in steering me back on track and giving me more confidence that the church of the Nazarene has not gone off the rails.
And I do appreciate your perspective on what it truly means to be mission oriented. It really is all about reaching people for Christ and seeing people make decisions for him. Salvation must always be the goal.
Keep on keeping on
Dave.