Barna research suggests that many older pastors are doing a pretty good job of preparing themselves for the finish line.

Unfortunately, our research from The Resilient Pastorseries also suggests that churches are struggling to set up a new generation for leadership as the older one prepares to step aside, something we’ll explore further in this article.

Most Clergy Agree It’s Getting Harder to Find Young Christians Who Want to Become Pastors In Barna’s 2017 report on The State of Pastors, we explored the “greying of the clergy”—confirming that most U.S. pastors are in the later stages of life and career. This pattern persists: As of 2022, only 16 percent of Protestant senior pastors are 40 years old or younger, and the average age among pastors is 52. As a generation of clergy ages and prepares to step down, it is not clear that churches are prepared for the transition. If this trend goes unaddressed, the Church in the U.S. will face a real succession crisis. Further, considering that younger pastors are already struggling with burnout at higher rates than their older colleagues are, the crisis is compounded and accelerating.

This may not come as a surprise. Barna’s data indicates that most pastors are worried about the future of pastoring. Three-quarters of pastors surveyed say they at least somewhat agree with the statement “It is becoming harder to find mature young Christians who want to be pastors,” and 71 percent at least somewhat agree with the statement “I am concerned about the quality of future Christian leaders.”