For years, a troubling claim has circulated in Churches of Christ: “We’re losing hundreds of preachers every year.”

But is it actually true?

In this bonus episode of Trends with Truth in Churches of Christ, Dale Jenkins and Dr. Michael D. Jackson dig beneath the alarming statistics and ask a much bigger question:

Do Churches of Christ really have a preacher shortage—or has the ministry landscape simply changed?

They discuss why congregations are taking longer to hire ministers, why fewer ministry graduates are choosing traditional pulpit roles, how increased church staffing may actually be creating greater demand, and why better compensation and longer minister tenures could be contributing to the appearance of a shortage.

The conversation also turns toward the future: Where will the next generation of gospel preachers come from?

Dale and Michael argue that developing ministers cannot simply be left to universities and preaching schools. It begins in local congregations—with parents, elders, preachers, and churches encouraging young men to see ministry as meaningful, joyful, and worth pursuing.

This episode challenges assumptions, questions statistics, and offers a more hopeful picture of what may actually be happening in ministry today.

00:00 The claim that Churches of Christ are losing 600 preachers a year
00:56 Welcome to Trends with Truth
01:38 Where did the preacher-shortage statistic come from?
03:10 How statistics become accepted church narratives
04:21 Are churches actually struggling to find preachers?
06:20 Why churches are taking longer to hire ministers
08:19 Finding the right personality and congregational fit
09:15 Better preacher salaries may be changing the market
10:45 How the pandemic affected churches and minister compensation
11:22 More ministry positions means greater demand
12:08 Why fewer ministry graduates enter pulpit ministry
13:00 The growth of youth and associate ministry positions
13:58 Are more preachers retiring?
14:22 Why this may actually be an optimistic problem
15:19 Are we training more ministers than ever before?
16:06 Why younger ministers are changing careers
17:21 Who is responsible for training future preachers?
18:02 Why ministry recruitment should begin in middle school
19:24 Give young men opportunities to preach and lead
19:44 Make ministry look worth pursuing
20:17 Final thoughts

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