I was reading in a church planting book (A New Kind of Church by Aubrey Malphurs) a very discouraging statistic. According to a survey done in 1999, only 7% of ministers were under the age of 35. I was also reading about how many young ministers are looking for individuals to mentor them, but they cannot even get some pastors to give them the time of day.
Personally, I find this to be a travesty. However, I have also found it to be true. Fortunately, my pastor has been good about helping me as I approach ministry. We have had times together (not nearly enough, but that's not his fault) where he has shared his heart and passion for ministry. The sad fact is that I have contacted a number of different pastors and asked for help with things or asked them to watch my sermons and provide helpful criticism. Unfortunately, my inbox remains empty in many cases.
I am not writing this to put down other pastors. I can only guess at how busy their days must be. I know that my day as an elementary school teacher is hectic from the moment the first student arrives until the moment the last student leaves. And then there are papers to grade, calls to make, emails to return, etc. So, yes, I understand that pastors are busy. I also know that if guys like me are not mentored, that 7% is going to drop even lower and soon there will be no young guys to replace the older ones.
I'll close this with a quote from Chris Bass: "A ministry built around one man has a short shelf life."
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