A few years ago, the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA) began regularly posting a list of pastoral openings on our website.1 This week I searched for the list to share with a young seminarian in our congregation, and I was surprised to find twenty-two openings. At first glance, this might seem like a small number. We are not a large body of churches, however, and each and every vacant pulpit has a story to tell. These are local flocks of sheep without shepherds.
There are currently about 140 URCNA churches in the U.S. and Canada, and the vast majority of these churches have solo pastors.2 Of the twenty-two openings, only four are for “co-pastors” or associate positions, presumably leaving eighteen churches with vacant pulpits seeking a pastor. In other words, one in eight URC churches is currently without a pastor, or 13%.
Before we dig deeper into these stats, let us pause and think about what life is like in a church without a pastor, and say a prayer for those churches. For most, the pulpits are being filled either by retired ministers, seminarians, or other local supply. Given the requirements of our church order, these should all be qualified men; but this still results in an inconsistent weekly diet of preaching. There is also a historic practice of elders reading printed sermons in the absence of a minister—a practice that few believers today have experienced. Beyond the ministry of the word, these churches also suffer a lack of pastoral care, a lack of prayer, a lack of spiritual vision and leadership. In many instances, there is not a single full-time employee of the church to take care of administrative tasks, and things invariably are falling through the cracks. Progress toward new membership for youth and new attendees has slowed or halted. This is a subsistence diet at best.
Lord, give our churches this day our daily bread, and please send shepherds for your sheep.
Beyond the relative scale of this problem, a number of questions are raised by the URCNA’s twenty-two pastoral openings. How typical is this number? If it is unusual, why? What can be done about it?
Anecdotally, many confessionally Reformed bodies are having difficulty filling pulpits. The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), perhaps the closest analogue to the URCNA, maintains a vacant pulpit list that currently has twenty-nine openings. This represents 9% of its 332 congregations, so one could argue that the URCNA vacancy problem is somewhat worse.
In contrast, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is a much larger body and does not share the “solo pastor” model with the OPC and URCNA. Not only does it have far more churches (over 1,900), but its churches are far more likely to have multiple staff positions. The online list of “Open PCA Positions” incorporates a wide range of pastoral positions, pastoral interns, music ministers, and youth directors. Not surprisingly, there are over seven hundred openings on this list. The PCA therefore offers a much larger and more diverse marketplace for pastoral candidates.
One obvious question is how many men are available to fill these URCNA vacancies. Currently, eight men are listed as ministerial candidates, and therefore fully qualified to take a call. Another twenty-seven are currently “licensed to exhort,” which means they are in training to become candidates for ministry. The total number of ministers in the URC is 206, which includes emeritus (retired) ministers who would not be available to take a new call.
Another source of candidates would be ordained men in other confessional bodies, and I am thinking particularly of member churches in the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC). In fact, NAPARC maintains a list of member-church vacant pulpit lists.3 While URCNA churches obviously prioritize men already in their own federation, search committees are free to look elsewhere for able candidates, and often do. The big challenge here would be limited communication across confessional boundaries. I would certainly encourage any ordained men who are seeking a call to review the URCNA vacancy list and make your availability known to any of the vacant churches.
What challenges does the URCNA face in filling these pulpits? While the process of calling a minister is ultimately a spiritual one—both for the search committee and the candidate—I am going to highlight some of the more practical matters. I can only speculate, but here are a few significant factors which may play a role.
First, the URCNA has a historic culture of solo pastors in modestly sized churches. There are not a large number of associate or assistant pastor positions for seminarians to take, in which they may gain experience and skills needed to serve as a solo pastor. On the flip side, it can be challenging for a church that has lost their pastor of many years to hire a candidate with little or no pastoral experience. This is an area where we can and should do more. I believe the URCNA would be well-served by seeking to develop more onramps to ministry for seminary graduates, including more year-long internships and junior positions for men to develop the skills and experience needed to thrive in ministry.
Another challenge is geography. It is interesting to note that when you break down the URCNA vacancies between the United States and Canada, the Canadian vacancy rate is 26%, compared with only 6% in the U.S.4 That is a striking discrepancy. Presumably, it is easier for a Canadian citizen to emigrate to the U.S.—for a whole host of reasons—than vice versa. But it is also notable that many of our Canadian ministers are trained in the U.S., and very few of our U.S. ministers are trained in Canada. Since many seminarians are introduced to churches during their training, this may contribute to a southward drift of candidates.
Another geographic challenge that holds both north and south of the border is the difficulty of calling men to smaller and more rural locales. Moving to Anchorage, Alaska may be unattractive to many U.S. families. Candidates raised on the coast may be unfamiliar with towns in the middle of the country such as Doon, Iowa, or DeMotte, Indiana, or Holland, Michigan—all of which, I hasten to add, are lovely places that I have visited! My Canadian geography is not very sharp, but I am guessing that a number of their vacancies are likewise in more remote locales.
In addition to solo pastorates and challenging geography, one final contributing factor must be addressed, albeit as sensitively as possible. The barriers to entry to the pastoral ministry are high—especially in a confessionally Reformed church—and the working conditions can be difficult.
To become a pastor in the URCNA, you need to secure a Master of Divinity degree, and the vast majority of our candidates attend in-person for three to four years. You need to demonstrate mastery of Biblical languages, of Greek and Hebrew. Ordinarily, there are internship requirements, and then you need to pass a candidacy exam before a regional classis, which entails the better part of a day enduring multiple oral examinations. While the URCNA seeks to provide support throughout this process to its members who pursue ministry, it still requires many sacrifices and great drive even to attain the status of a candidate for ministry. All of that work and effort may be in vain if a church does not call you to serve.
It is true, pastoral ministry is white-collar, professional work. Many professions are more physically demanding—we are not shoveling coal, collecting the trash, milking the cows, or harvesting the crops. But as any solo pastor will tell you, especially those with minimal administrative support, it does demand a wide range of skills and abilities. Compensation can be modest. While sermon preparation demands a large share of our attention, visitation and pastoral counseling can take a lot of time. Hours tend to be flexible, but they can be demanding.
A recent tweet of mine on the topic of URCNA vacancies garnered the following response from an anonymous account: “Treat your pastors better. That’d be a starting point.”5 I do not know the story behind that tweet, but there is one.
Pastoral work entails managing relationships—within leadership, within the congregation, and with peers. Over the course of a ministerial career, interpersonal conflict invariably arises. These conflicts can be extremely taxing, and they contribute to the well-documented rates of burnout among pastors. Elders are called to oversee the pastor, and ministers must be accountable to them. But pastors also need their support and protection when challenges arise.
Ultimately, it is the Lord who raises up laborers to enter the field for the harvest. We trust him, and thus entreat him, to send us ministers to fill our vacant pulpits. But there is a lot that the URCNA can do as a federation in addition to prayer. We must encourage men in this pursuit, provide resources for their training, create onramps to ministry, and sustain and nourish our ministers so they may serve the Lord faithfully over the long term. We should pray not only that the Lord would send us ministers but also that we would duly invest in the means by which these ministers might be provided.
Notes
- United Reformed Churches in North America, “Pastoral Openings: United Reformed Churches in North America.”
- URCNA, “Find a Church.”
- NAPARC, “Vacant Pulpit Lists.”
- Canada has twelve open pulpits and forty-seven churches, versus six open pulpits in ninety-three U.S. churches.
- Brian Lee (@RevDrBLee), “There are 22 vacant pulpits in the URCNA. Most of our churches only have a single pastor, so a vacant pulpit means a church without a pastor. That’s almost 15% of our churches. Please pray that the Lord would raise up laborers for the harvest,” X, January 29, 2025, 12:45 PM; UltimateCFBpod (@cfb_ultimate), “Treat your pastors better. That’d be a starting point,” January 29, 2025, 8:29 PM.
©R. Scott Clark. All Rights Reserved.
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Brian Lee
Rev. Dr. Brian Lee (B.A., Stanford; M.A., Westminster Seminary California; Ph.D., Calvin Theological Seminary) is the founding pastor of Christ Reformed DC. Prior to being called to plant CRDC, Brian worked on Capitol Hill in various capacities, and previously worked as an editor and writer for Modern Reformation and the White Horse Inn. He has authored numerous popular articles and has published scholarly works on the biblical interpretation of the Reformation. He has taught at Reformed Theological Seminary, Calvin College, and Calvin Seminary. He lives with his wife and daughter in Alexandria, Virginia.
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I couldn’t believe the 20 point difference between the Can/US churches. I knew the difference was bad but not that bad… 6% in the USA isn’t bad so the federation should be seeking to address the Canadian shortage.
This shortage of pastors among the Canadian urcna is not helped by shortages among the CanRC and other Reformed churches in Canada. In the CanRC we have about 20% of our churches vacant. I’ve seen more calls being extended to CanRC candidates from URC churches the last while. However that doesn’t help the landscape unless the CanRC can begin candidating and ordaining more men.
A more practical solution came from the authors point, which I agree with, that sending men to the USA is a part of the issue (we need some more tariffs). Changing that practice would help, CRTS being one (perhaps only?) Canadian alternative. This would definitely help lower the vacancy rate although seeing the CanRCs own issues something more is going on.
Brian mentions several stumbling blocks or barriers to the entry of someone desiring to enter the ministry. In my mind one of the biggest ones, regardless of how earnest and dedicated a student might be, are the ancient and classical languages – Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Excelling at those is similar to learning something like calculus – you either “get it” or you don’t. And I have the impression that most people don’t.
George,
I agree that students sometimes duck the challenge and take a route (e.g., attending schools that allow them to rely on computer software) that allows them skip the hard work but at my school we’ve been successfully teaching students the languages here since 1980. It’s not really that difficult conceptually. The difficulty is that most students have never learned to memorize. I’ve been teaching Latin to students for years. Once they memorize the vocabulary and forms and once they understand what the cases do, the whole world opens up for them (including English).
E.g.,
Nominative = subject
Accusative = direct object
Dative = indirect object/instrument/means
Genitive = possession/source
These are conceptually or inherently difficult but they are a little foreign to modern students.
One challenge is that students don’t always come to seminary knowing that subjects, objects, etc are but these can be and regularly are overcome. Seminary, however, is only the beginning of learning a language. They must be encouraged by their session/consistory to continue working in the languages every week. That doesn’t always happen but it’s essential that we keep this knowledge alive and functioning in the church.
To George and Dr. Clark,
I can speak to this particular issue. I did an MDiv at an evangelical institution online and the languages, though offered, were not mandatory. I started with it but realized I could skirt around it with an English Bible track. When I came to the convictions fully of the Reformed faith around the time that I completed the aforementioned degree, I knew I needed the languages among other things. (I.e, Homiletics is very closely linked.) So I moved cross country (in my case) and began doing an MDiv in person. The program that I’m in typically, has students go through a month long Greek “boot camp” before the beginning of the actual semester. But here’s the beauty of it, in learning the languages it teaches you other things that are useful for the ministry such as discipline, humility, and accountability to name a few. Yet, in the laboratory of training, a world truly does open up as Dr. Clark said.
I also agree with the point about learning how to memorize. Memorize is a constant thing. “Muscle memory” may better capture what goes on with the languages. But you’d be surprised how fast it begins to “stick.” I’d also agree that I did not know (or had forgotten) much of the grammar that I learned in elementary and high-school viz. cases.
Forgive me for burying the lead, but my main comment is that the languages are not quite the barrier that they may seem before ascending the mountain. It’s about the effort that you put into it. If you work hard, you do get it eventually. It’s not a “you either get it or you don’t” thing. Hebrew is harder at the beginning than Greek in my experience for a variety of reasons but as you grind you get to a moment where suddenly it “clicks.” Believe me, I’m far from the best student and will never write a commentary, but at the least, I can read the languages and see the nuances that the original languages have often which as solid as our English translations are, they can not fully capture.
In sum, the languages do require hard work but they are not a barrier. The implicit skills learned beyond the language itself help to more roundly equip the man for ministry.
Drew – thanks for your good input. I would add a couple elements to the list of “discipline, humility, and accountability” you mentioned. One is “motivation,” i.e. I “really want” to learn these old languages because they’ll help me in my ministry?” The other is a whiny “why do we “have” to learn these funky old languages – we have modern translations available?”
Unfortunately, I fear that the latter may be predominate among MDiv students.
Further, there are (or used to be – maybe not so much any more) a lot of what I refer to as “retreads,” i.e. people who either have retired from, couldn’t make a living at, or fleed from previous occupations in which they were unsuccessful for some of the above reasons. While some of these may turn out to be qualified ministers, many may drift into the world of broad mainline mainline protestant denominations just to stay employed. That may sound harsh and I wish it weren’t so, but unfortunately I’ve seen too many examples of such.
And so it goes. I wish all the best for young, enthusiastic, and motivated men who wish to dedicate themselves to earnest study at a qualified seminary in order to serve the Lord in a professional manner.
Here’s another solution that I fear will fall on deaf ears for the older URCers, but those under 50 are generally willing to hear—rejoin the CRC. As you all know, she is righting the ship under the hand of God. If the CRC were to see an influx of orthodox men, especially as pastors, the progress would be unstoppable. This would purify the CRC, heal a division, and help solve many of the problems raised in this piece.
Some will say they can never be in a denomination that allows for female ordination, etc. But, you can pastor a church that is complementarian. There is no need to violate your conscience on the Lord’s Day at your local congregation. I serve a CRC (1st CRC of Artesia) whose theology is parallel, exactly, with the URC’s. Yes, at Classis (unless you are in a complementarian Classis) and Synod you will be exposed to female ordination, but you can (and should) protest (like we do). Then, you can write overtures to abolish the “two view” system we have (which allows for both complementarianism and egalitarianism) and be part of the purifying work of the Spirit.
Rob,
It’s not so much deaf ears as it is experience since 1996. I have watched solid seminary students struggle to enter the ministry of the CRC.
First, there is What used to be a year of “penance.” I don’t know if it is still a year, but it is still a deterrent. It doesn’t matter how familiar a student is with the CRC. If he didn’t attend, Calvin, he has to do penance.
Then there is the matter of passing exams and becoming a candidate. I think that may vary from classis to classis but I believe that it is probably more difficult in some than in others
Then there is the matter of serving alongside people who are biblically disqualified. That is a very difficult pill to swallow.
I am very grateful for the positive developments in the CRC. I am grateful for those men who have persevered through the obstacles and have entered the ministry of the CRC and are now providing significant leadership for a resurgent confessional movement within the CRC but we should face honestly the challenges of being a confessionalist and running the gauntlet to get into the ministry of the CRC.
Dr. Clark,
I graduated WTS (Philly) in 2021 and entered the CRC without any prior CRC experience. The on-ramp was very reasonable. Yes, I did the “penance” but it was only 5 online classes at CTS (which I enjoyed, despite disagreeing with some of the progressive instincts held there) and two weekend trips to Grand Rapids. But—this is essential to note—I did all this while serving as a full-time, fully salaried, Commissioned Pastor. The “penance” is in order to be ordained as a Minister of the Word. CP’s credentials are valid only within the authorizing Classis. MoW’s credentials are valid throughout the denomination. That is really the only difference.
So, a seminary grad can take a call from a local church and be commissioned as a pastor in that church’s Classis quite quickly. Perhaps, too quickly. So, regarding “penance” and exams, in my recent experience, those are non-issues.
Regarding serving alongside those who are disqualified, that only is true if “alongside” refers to those in other churches. I would not take a call in an egalitarian CRC church, and I haven’t. So, each Lord’s Day I have zero conscience issues. At Classis and Synod, that’s a different story, but I don’t swallow the pill so much as protest it (as mentioned above). It’s not ideal, but sometimes I think we focus too much on acheiving perfect doctrinal unity rather than persuading those who hold error. But, maybe that’s just because I’m one of “Machen’s warrior children” 😉
Does the CRC have a pastor shortage?
The CRC has between 12% – 15% vacant pulpits as of the report to Synod 2024. 54% of new pastors are coming through the EPMC program, what has commonly been called the “year of penance.” Many classes are using the office of commissioned pastor, formerly evangelist, to act as a stop gap during times of vacancy.
To answer Dr. Clark’s concerns:
There are those inside the CRC that recognize that things cannot continue as they are. The EPMC program is not working as intended and there are those working on overtures to address various problems and concerns.
As for the Classical exams, that is really no different to the URCNA. The exams in the URC are just as varied, if not more so. Each classis conducts exams according to the standards of the church and the materials provided at the denominational level. Each classis will apply those materials, and vote accordingly, in different ways.
The CRC is far from where it needs to be. But there are those that are dedicated to its return to biblical fidelity and confessional commitment. I serve a church and classis that is complementarian. We are dedicated to the authority of the Word and its perspecuity, especially in qualifications for officebearers. The exams in the CRC are lenient compared to the URC. The time spent in examination is approximately half that of the URC. But there are other obstacles. There are those who do not welcome me because of the views I hold and the work I have done to reform the denomination. There are institutional roadblocks that happen when certain perspectives are not appreciated through the process.
There is a continuing recognition of the cognitive and theological dissonance within the CRC. It will not surprise me to have a sizable split over perspective on authority of scripture in the relatively near future.
From my perspective (I’m in Classis GLA) the CRC is in a good position to return to the pre 1990’s CRC. The baby boomer progressive Dutch class (not all Dutch, obviously, but the progressives seem to usually be GR types) is ageing out and the people joining are usually more confessional. Plus, essentially all the minority churches are at least conservative, and very willing to grow into their understanding of confessionality. The Abide Project is 10x more organized and influential than Better Together, etc. So, we’re “leaking left” as Paul Vanderklay puts it, but I don’t see a “break right” in the future. Why would we leave when we’re at the helm? We’ll hemorage more progressives as time goes on, but it won’t be a split—D.v. SDG.
Thank you, Mr Lee Sir, for this valuable, pertinent article!! I have a question I’ve been really wanting to know for some time=as a former active member with RC-US (with only around 48-50 churches in the US, and also struggling with several pastoral openings), while in the NorCal, Sacramento area, and now moved to northeast SoCal for 2 years, can anyone (Dr Clark and I have dialogued a few times about this👍😊)let me know how this denomination is doing?
My all time favorite Biblical Pastor and from up in Covenant Reformed Church in Sac is Pastor Frank Walker, whom I know Dr Clark has greatly approved of and known for 40+ years. Do we still regard them as solid and influential, as well? I’m greatly interested, as my wife and I still seek an excellent Reformed Church in our area. Thank you!
Rob, I don’t have the answer to that. I did a quick check of other NAPARC groups, and I don’t think I could easily find that data. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I’d welcome someone from the RCUS chiming in.
If you are seeking a Reformed Church, and at all interested in being a part of a church planting effort, please send me an email. You can find contact info at our church website, linked here. I am the chairman of the URC’s home missions committee, and can easily contact folks in our Classis Southwest for you to talk to.
Rob,
I didn’t answer immediately because I didn’t have the facts. Not many people will likely know about the RCUS since it is mainly situated in the Dakotas (with a a smattering of congregations south of the Dakotas), with a presence in Northern California.
The best source for information about the RCUS is the stated clerk of the Synod. According to their website they have seven vacant pulpits. One of them, my home church in Lincoln, has been vacant for a while. This does not bode well. Some of those vacancies are in well established congregations that used to be fairly substantial, e.g. Napoleon, OH. Trinity in Sioux Falls was once a fast-growing church but I wonder if the URC plant in Sioux Falls has affected that? Pierre, SD was an established church. Now, it typically takes a year to fill a pulpit in any case but St John’s, Lincoln, has been vacant for probably 2 years or maybe longer.
The RCUS was a little north of 3,000 souls when I was in Kansas City. That hasn’t changed much. As of 2024 the clerk reports (p. 156), 3,438 total baptized members. It appears that the largest congregation is Trinity, Sioux Falls with 232 total baptized members. If memory serves, the largest church in the RCUS used to be about 400 members. Someone would have to go through the classical and synodical abstracts from the 70s and 80s to confirm this but I’m pretty sure that the Manitowoc, WI congregation was much bigger than it is now and that Eureka, SD was larger than it is now.
There has been a population drain from the Plains for decades and that is almost certainly a factor.
Thank you, Sir, for that great response and info. It lines up well w/what I’ve thought and experienced up north. Stockton’s church closed in 2022; Lodi’s only had 15-18 members; Grass Valley’s was closing; and I recall nation wide from the Synod Report that they had dropped from around 50 churches to 42,43(?). Very sad. Even Sacto’s CRC was down to maybe 50 members last I went. I lived very far away then! Thank you again much, Dr. Clark! You are truly very knowledgeable, and as we used.to say when quite impressed=‘you do great work, Sir!’👍🙏✝️📖🙏
My tweet made the Heidelblog. I guess that I’m moving up in the world (and yes, there’s most definitely a story, or maybe I should say stories, behind it).
You’re welcome for the promotion.
If you ever want to talk feel free to message me on twitter.
Thanks for this article Dr. Lee. As an elder in a vacant URCNA church in Canada, I can tell you that our churches do need pastors desperately. In my mind, one of the biggest barriers to getting men to come north of the border is simply financial. The house prices here are astronomical. As of the beginning of this year, the average house price was $670k Canadian (about $470k USD). If you want to go to a metro area like Toronto or Vancouver, these prices can easily double – and we are not talking about the ritz, we’re talking about modest famiily homes. The typical salaries provided to ministers simply cannot be squared with these prices. It is to the point where living here is almost not even practically possible. Our churches need to look to find ways to solve this very practical issue. We can pray all we want, but maybe what we should be doing is buying a manse (in addition to praying). And I will also add, American men should be willing to consider a call north of the border. If you choose to be a candidate in a binational federation, that comes with the territory.
You can say that “ American men should be willing to consider a call north of the border. If you choose to be a candidate in a binational federation, that comes with the territory,” but in reality Americans without deep personal connections to Canada are unlikely to be interested in working there (including pastors). Even if the URC pastor shortage improves it won’t solve the problem in Canada unless Canadian churches produces more candidates, and even then many Canadian, if given the choice, may very well elect to minister in the US.
Brian,
I have no comment on your post – it has merit – other than that it was made by a different Brian than the Brian Lee who wrote the article. 🙂
Regarding this: “The house prices here are astronomical.”
By the standards of most evangelical denominations, the CRC and URC and RCA have astronomically high salaries for pastors. The result has been the loss, in many cases, of what used to be a standard item provided for pastors, i.e., a parsonage, usually next to or close to the church building.
I get it that due to tax laws allowing a tax-free housing allowance in lieu of a parsonage, and the problems of a pastor retiring with no equity in a home and therefore no way to buy a home, it has become common for pastors in denominations that pay well to forego providing a parsonage.
That may work fine in rural areas or mid-income suburbs. But when housing prices skyrocket in major urban areas, or rapidly growing suburbs, it creates a huge problem for pastors, as Izaak De Jager points out.
That’s a problem that can be fixed by purchasing a parsonage. It may not be the ideal situation but it’s something denominations that pay much less for their pastors have had to do essentially forever, since without a parsonage, many pastors could not afford to be in the pastorate.
I’m a licentiate in the OPC currently looking for a call. I really appreciated this article. I thought it was poignant, attentive and helpful. Thank you for taking the time to write it Brian.
Thanks, Dominic. May God bless your labors, and best of success in your vocational pursuit.
Firstly, I am praying for the sheep of our great shepherd that are without undershepherds. Though these individuals are not without salvation & comfort of the Father of all comfort & mercies, this is greatly lamentable, amongst other things that I’m sensing. There is something going on in the Reformed branch of the vineyard that I pray that we need to be praying, fasting, and maybe even repenting about. Practically, as NAPARC and various denominations/federations lists vacant pulpit there should be lists also available of qualified ministers without a call & a bit about him listing his schooling, family size/age, link to sermons if available, etc, so churches can reach out to these men so they can “candidate.”
It’s also worth considering whether the qualifications to become a candidate are confessional or are a requirement of uniformity. There are confessionally qualified candidates being turned away because they don’t have an exact view on all points stated the “approved” way compared to the classis. That doesn’t mean we “relax” or standards, but we must take a look at why we have so little tolerance for any variation in legitimate, confessional beliefs.
Care to give an example?