The PCA is approaching an important long-term question: How will the denomination raise up enough qualified pastors to serve its churches, plant new ones, and lead growing ministries in the decades ahead? A large generation of pastors is nearing retirement, the PCA continues to grow, and RUF and other ministries are expanding into new places. At the same time, fewer young men are imagining pastoral ministry as a possible vocation, financial barriers can make seminary difficult to pursue, and pastors are leaving pulpits because of burnout, early retirement, and other pressures.
These converging factors raise questions about the entire pastoral pipeline—from identifying and encouraging potential ministers to training, supporting, and placing them well. That work cannot belong to seminaries alone. It requires local churches, presbyteries, campus ministries, seminaries, and the wider denomination to see themselves as partners in raising up the next generation.
In this conversation, Derek Radney speaks with seminary presidents Ligon Duncan and Tom Gibbs about the challenges and opportunities ahead—and how the whole church can work together to prepare pastors for a lifetime of faithful ministry.