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“Many have inquired about the current ratio of vacant churches to ministers eligible for call, and there is a growing sense that the Christian Reformed Church in North America has a ‘pastor shortage,’” the denomination’s Candidacy Committee wrote in a 2024 report on the church’s leadership landscape. Survey data from the regional groups of churches support that observation.
Survey responses were received from 82 classis leaders representing 39 of 49 classes. The approximate numbers include 34 vacancies in the classes that didn’t respond to the survey, as suggested by classis minute reporting. The full Candidacy Committee report will be in the Agenda for Synod 2024.