Lord's Prayer

The twentieth century was a landmark century for the church. The desire to return to the apostolic roots of the church birthed the Pentecostal movement. From Topeka, Kansas, and Azusa Street in Los Angeles, the fire of Pentecost engulfed the globe. What began as a smoldering ember has become a raging fire. Christianity will never be the same.

As the 21st century dawns, the church sits on the edge of her greatest potential. Already reports are being filed of outstanding revival. The Dream Team just returned from the Philippines with news of over 90,000 souls receiving the Holy Ghost. These may be the best days of the church. The outlook for the United Pentecostal Church International is great. We have more churches and ministers than ever before. When our growth rate is compared with other Pentecostal churches, we shine.

But behind every silver lining is a cloud. Preliminary statistics seem to show a declining number of young men and women entering the ministry. While the overall total of licensed ministers continues to grow, the number of young ministers seems to be falling. The following statistics are from a very small pool of data and it is easy to misread trends with such a small sample. The new computer system at the Word Evangelism Center will give a much more reliable picture in the near future. However, I want to draw your attention to what I think is happening. From November of 1998 to January of 2001 the number of licensed ministers 28 years old and younger in the UPCI declined by 16%. For the same period of time, the decline in the number of ministers 36 years of age and younger is 71/2%. It is not until we get to ministers in their late 30’s and into their 40’s that we find an increase in the number of ministers for that November 1998 to January 2001 time period. On a more anecdotal level as I have observed the Youth Division on a sectional level struggle sometimes to find a qualified minister to become a sectional youth leader, I have a growing feeling that we do not have the number of young ministers we need to fulfill our mandate. The hard data above coupled with some personal anecdotal evidence causes me to ask, “Where have all the young ministers gone?”

Article Source: http://www.christiannotepad.com

written by Robin Johnston in the "Pentecostal Herald" July 2001 issue Visit Site: https://www.upci.org/editorial/