In recent years, many churches have faced the challenge of an aging congregation. Even in those with a greater presence of young people, few are willing to step into roles of ministry. This trend has raised concerns among many church leaders: Why are young people hesitant to serve? What are their concerns? And how can the church better support and encourage them to take on responsibilities?
Pastor Shen, a longtime minister in northern China, recently offered his perspective. He emphasized that church leaders should nurture young believers as they would their own children, caring not only for their spiritual growth but also addressing the real-life challenges they face. Rather than relying solely on "faith" to expect their growth and devotion to ministry, he advocates for providing tangible support to help them engage in ministry.
Two Reasons Why Young People Are Reluctant to Serve
"Faith cannot fill an empty stomach" is a stark yet honest reflection held by many young people in the church. While many are willing to dedicate their youth to ministry, they face the immediate pressure of financial survival. With numerous churches offering minimal compensation, and some offering none at all, young people are often forced to choose between basic financial security and full-time service.
Commenting on this issue, Pastor Shen noted that many emerging urban churches have begun to recognize the importance of providing financial support to sustain long-term ministry. Some churches now offer housing allowances, social security, and basic salaries to ensure that ministers can maintain a reasonable standard of living.
However, in many traditionally-minded churches, older pastors continue to uphold the belief that ministers should live purely "by faith" and remain detached from material concerns. Pastor Shen cited an example from his hometown, where elderly pastors, in their zeal for the Lord, would even cover their own travel expenses for rural preaching trips. While well-intentioned, such practices may unintentionally become a stumbling block for younger believers.
"We have never taken a penny from the church; have we not sacrificed everything to serve God?" asked one senior pastor who has served faithfully for many years. He struggled to understand why young people today hesitate to serve due to the lack of financial compensation. Pastor Shen replied, "We were poor back then, but today most families live comfortably. If young people see that old pastors are still enduring hardship, who will be willing to serve? They'll simply feel there is no future in the church."
In recent years, many theology graduates have found themselves in a difficult position: eager to serve, yet unable to find suitable roles within the church. In most congregations, leadership remains in the hands of the older generation, leaving young people with little voice in the pulpit or elders' meetings. Even those with clear gifting and passion often struggle to find space for hands-on ministry experience.
This has led many young preachers into a frustrating cycle—keen to grow, but without a platform; willing to take on responsibility, but offered few opportunities. In such an environment, some choose to lower their expectations and persevere, while others gradually lose motivation after prolonged lack of recognition. As one common sentiment among young believers goes, "Even if I prepare diligently, the church won't give me the chance to preach—so what's the point?"
Compounding this issue is the reality of inadequate financial support in many churches, making it difficult for young ministers to sustain even a modest standard of living. Some theology graduates, unable to find service opportunities or adequate income, are forced to seek work in factories or other industries to support themselves. Though they once held a deep passion to serve God, the absence of opportunities and the pressures of daily life eventually drove some to leave ministry.
Raise the Young Generation to Serve God
"We need to make the young people take root in the truth. God's words created the world and renewed us. Without the words of the Lord, nothing would ever exist." Pastor Shen said that when he explained why he edited the 62 episodes of Bible Q&A. "Some Christians believe that they are following the words of the Lord, but in fact they are disobeying them."
A brother borrowed thousands of yuan to go to Israel to preach the gospel. However, the evangelistic efforts didn't work well and even left his family with huge debts. His families worry much about him, but this brother thinks that he is just following the Lord. He never really realizes that his behavior is against biblical teachings.
Pastor Shen analyzed, "If one couldn't take root in the truth, he or she may deviate from the teachings due to passion and even make the wrong choice."
Second, the church should also give the young people more chances to preach sermons. "It would be a great chance for them to grow even if we just let them preach for five minutes." Pastor Shen said. "While training the young people, the pastors should encourage them more and help them to build confidence. It's okay that young people may make mistakes sometimes. With the gradual maturation of their spiritual lives, they would gradually make fewer mistakes. In short, we should keep them moving and not let them become giant babies with everything handed to them."
Besides, the church needs to provide the young people with the opportunity to think. While talking about the reasons for the incapability of young people to think innovatively under exam-oriented education, Pastor Shen thinks that it's because the church doesn't give them the chance to think. The sheep of the Lord are waiting for the shepherd of the pastors, and this would urge them to study the Bible and get to know the truth clearly.
"Why would I spend four years writing the interpretation of 66 Books of the Bible? Because a bunch of people are urging me to preach every single day. Thus, I have to keep thinking. If I don't publish the sermon preaching on time, people would ask me, 'pastor, why don't you release the recording of today?'.
Thus, the church should encourage the young people to shoulder the responsibility of preaching and let them grow while preaching, so that they can build a solid spiritual foundation through practice.
What's more, Pastor Shen believes that the church leaders need to treat the young people as their own children while training them.
"Some young people develop slowly because they feel hopeless in the church. 'How could I provide for myself if I do this?' This is their true concern. If we pay them 3,000 yuan or even 5,000 yuan every month, how could they rise up? Some senior co-workers even have to pay for their gas while they drive for ministries. How would the young people be willing to serve if they see this?"
Pastor Shen raised his voice. "People would be willing to pay much for the extra lessons for their children, even though they know that their children may not be excellent in their studies. What about the children of the Lord? Have you even thought about helping them?"
Some young people are outstanding children of their parents. However, if the church only encourages them to devote themselves to ministry, but they live a hard life because of their low salary. This would pose a great challenge to them.
"The pulpit is not just for senior pastors." Pastor Shen said. "You have to let them have the chance to stand in the front. If we don't let them try, they would never study the Bible hard, because they would not have the chance to preach sermons even after they study hard.
Some developed countries would be willing to recruit talent by paying a high price. Pastor Shen thought that the church doesn't necessarily train young people by paying a high price, but it at least needs to provide for the daily needs of young people and ensure that they can feel the love and care of the church.
He recalled the days when he had just started to follow Jesus. "At that time, I would read the words of the Bible in the pulpit every week. After reading them, I would figure out the meaning of every word by consulting the dictionary. Then I would try to explain the meaning of the scriptures to other people. At that time, people didn't care about how accurately you explained. They would applaud no matter how bad your preaching was, and that would make you have the confidence to continue your preaching."
Originally published by the Christian Times
- Edited by Karen Luo, translated by Poppy Chan & Nicolas Cao
