rwh04oct Ep.384 – Run With Horses Podcast – Equipping or Educating? Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Author pages with links to all books on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BCSDDVLB – James Norman Smith https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BMGW51FW – Susan Jane

The Probelm • Median age of U.S. Christians has risen (median Christian age ~54), which corresponds with an older pastoral workforce.  • Surveys show large shares of pastors have seriously considered quitting in recent years (Barna reported ~33–40% had considered quitting in the early 2020s). Covid had a huge impact and pointed out some problems. • Research finds only a small percent (about ~1% per year) actually permanently leave pastoral ministry for reasons other than retirement, but the pipeline into pastoral roles is thin and many serve bivocationally. (Lifeway and other research summarize low annual exit rates but continued recruitment shortfalls.)  • Many groups lose members (reported membership declines in recent annual reports), which affects church budgets and pastoral hiring.