Why Churches Can't Find Staff Anymore

Article by: Thom S. Rainer

Founder of Church Answers

Read the original article HERE

Not long ago, churches assumed that if a staff position opened, candidates would appear. Résumés would arrive. Interviews would follow. Eventually, someone would say yes. Today, many church leaders are discovering that assumption no longer holds. 

Across the country, churches are voicing the same frustration: “We can’t find a staff person.” The needs vary—children’s ministry, student ministry, worship leadership, assimilation, discipleship—but the struggle is the same. 

This is not an isolated problem or a temporary disruption. It is a growing reality that requires honest assessment, fresh thinking, and the courage to reconsider long-held staffing assumptions. 

Fewer People Are Being Trained for Local Church Ministry

For decades, churches relied on a steady stream of trained leaders from seminaries and Bible colleges. That stream has slowed to a trickle. Enrollment declines, rising educational costs, and shifting vocational expectations have all reduced the number of men and women preparing for church staff ministry. 

Even among those who do pursue formal theological education, fewer are aiming for local church roles. Many choose parachurch ministries, nonprofit work, counseling, or entirely different careers. 

This shift has left churches competing for a smaller and smaller pool of candidates. The challenge is not merely finding the right person; it is finding any trained person at all. Smaller churches feel this most acutely, but larger congregations are not immune. 

When the traditional training pipeline narrows, the downstream impact is unavoidable. Churches that continue to depend almost exclusively on seminaries and Bible colleges for staffing will increasingly find themselves waiting—often a very long time—for candidates who never arrive. 

Churches Fail to Consider Co-Vocational Staff

Many churches unintentionally shrink their candidate pool by assuming that every staff role must be full-time. In reality, that assumption eliminates a growing number of gifted and called leaders who are already serving effectively while earning income elsewhere. Co-vocational ministry is no longer an exception. It is becoming the norm. 

There are capable children’s ministers, student leaders, worship pastors, and discipleship coordinators who bring deep ministry skills along with professional experience from other fields. Yet churches often overlook them because they do not fit an outdated employment model. The issue is not commitment or calling. It is structure. 

When churches dismiss co-vocational staff as a temporary solution or a second-best option, they miss an opportunity for sustainable ministry. Embracing co-vocational roles requires flexibility, clear expectations, and trust—but it also opens the door to leaders who may never apply for a traditional full-time position, yet could serve with excellence and longevity. 

Churches Are Living With Outdated Staffing Paradigms

Many churches are trying to solve today’s staffing challenges with yesterday’s assumptions. Expectations about availability, office hours, compensation, and role definitions were shaped in a different ministry era. Those models once worked well. They no longer fit the current reality. 

Job descriptions often reflect an unspoken expectation of constant accessibility and broad responsibility, especially in mid-sized churches. One person is expected to lead, administrate, innovate, shepherd, and manage—often without clear priorities. Talented leaders read those expectations and quietly decide the role is not sustainable. 

Younger leaders, in particular, are not rejecting church ministry. They are rejecting unhealthy models of it. When churches insist on rigid structures and inflexible paradigms, they unintentionally communicate that adaptability and balance are not valued. The result is predictable. 

Qualified candidates choose environments where expectations are clearer, workloads are realistic, and ministry is structured for long-term faithfulness rather than short-term survival.

Geography Has Become a Major Barrier

Location is no longer a secondary consideration in staffing decisions. For many potential staff members, it is decisive. Housing affordability, cost of living, quality of schools, healthcare access, and employment opportunities for spouses all factor heavily into whether a move is feasible. 

Churches sometimes assume that a strong sense of calling will overcome these realities. In practice, it often does not—and should not be expected to. Ministry families must steward their finances, care for their children, and plan for long-term sustainability. When the numbers do not work, even the most enthusiastic candidates will decline. 

This challenge is especially acute in high-cost urban areas and in rural communities with limited employment options. Churches may not be able to change their geography, but they must acknowledge its impact. Ignoring location realities does not strengthen calling; it simply narrows an already limited pool of willing and able candidates. 

Churches Have Neglected Internal Leadership Development

Many churches struggle to find staff because they are searching externally for leaders they never developed internally. Over time, the pipeline inside the church has quietly dried up. Faithful volunteers were never invited to deeper training. Emerging leaders were never mentored. Potential staff members were never named as such. 

This is more than a staffing issue. It is a discipleship issue. When churches fail to invest intentionally in leadership development, they should not be surprised when no one is ready to step into ministry roles. Hiring becomes reactive instead of relational. 

A Needed Reset, Not a Passing Problem

The staffing struggles many churches face are not temporary disruptions. They are signals that something deeper has shifted. The question is no longer how to fill positions quickly, but how to rethink ministry staffing faithfully and realistically. 

Churches that cling to old assumptions will continue to experience frustration. Churches that adapt—with humility, flexibility, and intentional leadership development—will find new paths forward. 

This moment calls for a reset, not a retreat. When churches widen their vision of who can serve, how ministry can be structured, and where leaders can be formed, the staffing conversation moves from anxiety to opportunity—and from scarcity to hope. 

Article submitted by: Bishop Mike Ainsworth

Conference Superintendent

Cornerstone Conference IPHC