December 2020
Church leadership need
16/12/20 11:25
Germany has had a growing shortage of leaders for all sorts of churches.
Free Churches -
Baptist: Several years ago I talked to someone on a pastor search committee from a fairly large (500 attendance) Baptist church. The church had looked for 5 years unsuccessfully for a fitting preacher. After the Wall fell in the 90's there were 18 American pastors in Baptist churches. By the year 2000 it was reported that for every 20 open churches (from 900 churches) there were only 9 possible candidates. ("ideaSpektrum" 6.March 2000, p.12)
Free Evangelical Congregations: The fastest growing Free Church is the FeG. in the year 2000 they had 387 churches and the number is growing; today it is 500. In 2000 there were 14 open churches and they were not able to fill these with graduates of their theological school. ("ideaSpektrum" 20.March 2000, p.7)
In the State Church -
Evangelical Lutheran in the 1970's there was a flood of Pastors. In 1982 there were 26,000 theology students; now there are 2400. It is estimated that by 2030 one third for the opening for a new pastor can not be filled. In the Northern Germany Synod there are 1700 Pastors for 1.9 million members in 987 churches but by 2030 only 1100 (900 are going into retirement and only 300 are coming up). ( "ideaSpektrum" 25.March 2019, pp.16-18; 18.Nov. 2019, p.28)
In the Pommern Synod in NE Germany in the next 3 years 15 Pastors will be retiring and only 6-9 new pastors will be joining the ranks. ("ideaSpektrum" 01.April 2019, p.29) One pastorate in the Synod has 47 villages and 8 churches to cover. The pastor holds 2-3 church services every Sunday and the other churches remain closed or have limited services. ("ideaSpektrum" 01.July 2019, p.21)
From a conservative Lutheran school a professor said that the demand for theological graduates is giant but the demand can in no way be met. When asked why this was so the reply was that the profession is no longer "sexy", no appeal. At one time a pastor was with medical doctors at the top of the social ladder but that is no longer so. ("ideaSpektrum" 19.Oct. 2020, p.24)
Catholic Church in Lower Saxony more and more foreign Priests are being used to fill the gap. In the diocese of Osnabrück 29% of the priests are foreigners and in the diocese of Hildesheim it is 31% according to the Peine Newspaper (PAZ 3.Jan.2019, p.15) In the county of Peine two different Catholic churches have priests from India.
Free Churches -
Baptist: Several years ago I talked to someone on a pastor search committee from a fairly large (500 attendance) Baptist church. The church had looked for 5 years unsuccessfully for a fitting preacher. After the Wall fell in the 90's there were 18 American pastors in Baptist churches. By the year 2000 it was reported that for every 20 open churches (from 900 churches) there were only 9 possible candidates. ("ideaSpektrum" 6.March 2000, p.12)
Free Evangelical Congregations: The fastest growing Free Church is the FeG. in the year 2000 they had 387 churches and the number is growing; today it is 500. In 2000 there were 14 open churches and they were not able to fill these with graduates of their theological school. ("ideaSpektrum" 20.March 2000, p.7)
In the State Church -
Evangelical Lutheran in the 1970's there was a flood of Pastors. In 1982 there were 26,000 theology students; now there are 2400. It is estimated that by 2030 one third for the opening for a new pastor can not be filled. In the Northern Germany Synod there are 1700 Pastors for 1.9 million members in 987 churches but by 2030 only 1100 (900 are going into retirement and only 300 are coming up). ( "ideaSpektrum" 25.March 2019, pp.16-18; 18.Nov. 2019, p.28)
In the Pommern Synod in NE Germany in the next 3 years 15 Pastors will be retiring and only 6-9 new pastors will be joining the ranks. ("ideaSpektrum" 01.April 2019, p.29) One pastorate in the Synod has 47 villages and 8 churches to cover. The pastor holds 2-3 church services every Sunday and the other churches remain closed or have limited services. ("ideaSpektrum" 01.July 2019, p.21)
From a conservative Lutheran school a professor said that the demand for theological graduates is giant but the demand can in no way be met. When asked why this was so the reply was that the profession is no longer "sexy", no appeal. At one time a pastor was with medical doctors at the top of the social ladder but that is no longer so. ("ideaSpektrum" 19.Oct. 2020, p.24)
Catholic Church in Lower Saxony more and more foreign Priests are being used to fill the gap. In the diocese of Osnabrück 29% of the priests are foreigners and in the diocese of Hildesheim it is 31% according to the Peine Newspaper (PAZ 3.Jan.2019, p.15) In the county of Peine two different Catholic churches have priests from India.
