Building Future Leaders at The House of Prayer

Building Future Leaders at The House of Prayer

Where are we going? I am sad to say that I fear for the future of The House of Prayer, our local church ministry here in ___________. Truth be told, I am worried for most of the churches in the area. There is a huge gap in the capability and understanding of the young church leaders compared to our more experienced pastors. Something has to be done. Young people are disillusioned with the church, needing leaders who understand their problems. I recognize that most church leaders, even among the younger generation, have theology degrees; however, theology schools focus on studying scripture and learning Biblical history. Little practical knowledge is passed on in those classes. As members of the church’s board of trustees, it is our responsibility to address this issue and pass on to the next generation the same good leadership of the church that was given to us.

Is this really a problem? In truth, I think this has been a problem in non-denominational churches since the movement began. One of the problems with neglecting to hold to any particular forms is that certain necessary functions can be lost. One of those functions is often the proper training of new pastors. This has had many effects on non-denominational churches, including The House of Prayer. The church is losing its young members; frustrated and misunderstood by older pastors who do not understand their world, they receive few answers from the inexperienced younger leaders. While statistics are encouraging that many young people who leave the church eventually return, the loss of time and teaching can be detrimental to their spiritual lives. Families with young children are also leaving the church, unsatisfied with the teaching their children are receiving. These families often become nomadic, hopping from church to church looking for an acceptable place to raise their children, and finding none. This can be a huge problem, as the lack of structure in this church hopping can hurt children more than the lack of capable young pastors. Perhaps the greatest problem evolving from the poor training of young leaders is the lack of spiritual understanding among the youths in the church. In a time when Christian beliefs are questioned more than ever, and the scientific elite ostracize any creationist, few youth leaders even touch on the subject of apologetics.