The Gospel Lab Initiative

The Presbyterian Church in New South Wales has a problem – a shortage of ministers.

This Protestant, evangelical and reformed denomination is expecting approximately 30–35 ordained and inducted ministers to retire by the end of 2026. There are also an increased number of people leaving ministry prematurely, for reasons such as burnout. 25% of churches are without a minister, but the Presbyterian college and other training institutions are currently only producing between six to eight ordination graduates each year. The bottom line is that they are not seeing enough men going to be trained for ordained ministry and the rate of people leaving exceeds the rate of those joining.

What is the solution? Some have suggested that the Presbyterian church lower their standards for ministerial training to encourage more people to enjoy. Some would consider that Presbyterians have too high academic standards and that their licensing and ordination process has too many layers and assessments. Perhaps there could be some restructuring, but it would seem unwise, in an increasingly complex world, to dumb down the standards required. The Presbyterians, like the other denominations, have to address other issues including the ever-growing multicultural nature of Sydney, the increasing intolerance of secular progressivism, and the untapped church planting opportunities.