Over the past several decades, the American religious landscape has been changing.  The share of U.S. adults who self-identify as Christian has been declining, and today about a quarter of adults say they have no religious affiliation (Pew Research 2019).  The average weekly worship attendance has also been decreasing, and among those who do attend religious services, more people are concentrated in the largest congregations (Chaves 2017).  The largest one percent of congregations now hold 20 percent of financial resources, personnel, and worship attenders.  How do these changing contours of the religious landscape impact congregations and those whom they employ to carry out their mission?  The Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary is conducting a study funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. to discover answers to this question and more.  In the quantitative component of this project, we are analyzing denominational data provided to us by leaders in several Christian denominations.  We are exploring the characteristics of pastors who lead these congregations, such as demographic characteristics and employment arrangements, and how these are related to changes in church size, membership demographics, finances, personnel expenditures, and more.  We situate our work within the context of broader religious traditions explored in previous studies, such as the National Congregations Study.

In this first report, we describe the trends demographic characteristics of clergy serving as senior or sole pastors of Nazarene congregations, congregations’ weekly worship attendance and total expenditures, and how these pastor and congregation characteristics have changed from 2000 to 2019. We also explore how characteristics of pastors vary by average weekly worship attendance and congregations’ total expenditures, and how these relationships have changed over the past two decades.

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In this first section, we describe the total number of pastors and congregations, and how this has changed over time. We then describe some general characteristics of pastors serving congregations, such as age, gender, and levels of educational training for ministry.

In 2000, there were close to 6,400 pastors serving in close to 4,650 Nazarene congregations.  A little over three-quarters of these pastors served as the sole pastor of their congregations. By 2019, the total number of pastors serving congregations had grown to over 8,000 individuals, 58% of whom served as sole pastors.

From the founding of the denomination, Nazarenes have affirmed women and men as being “equally called” to ministry, and historically all ministry positions have been open to both women and men, including the position of ordained elder.^[1] Women have been involved in such ministries as teaching, visitation, and evangelism by the local church. In practice, however, women experienced greater freedom to take pastoral roles in the mission field than they did in the U.S. In 1925, women comprised 12 percent of Nazarene pastors in the U.S. and Canada. By 1945, however, the percentage of female pastors dropped to just 6 percent. The majority of women who did serve as pastors served congregations in the region that spanned from West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.^[2] By the 1950s and 1960s, women were expected to take on more domestic roles, such as supporting husbands in their pastoral roles by hosting church members, and managing the household. By 1975, only 2 percent of Nazarene pastors were women, and this percentage had further dropped to just 1.5 percent in 1995.^[3]

Just five years later, our analyses show that this downward trend had begun to reverse, and about 2.6 percent (121) of senior or sole pastors of congregations were women. Women comprised just over 9 percent of all senior and sole pastors by 2019.

Our initial goal was to determine for each denomination in our study the extent to which denominations are staffing lead pastoral positions with individuals who have a graduate seminary degree versus those who have gone through alternative credentialing processes.   Many denominations place a strong emphasis on specialized education and training through seminaries, and formally require a Master of Divinity in order to become an ordained pastor (Perl and Chang 2000, Finke and Doughtery 2002). However, some of these denominations that once placed a strong emphasis on formalized training now provide less costly options to become qualified for pastoral ministry, such as credentialing programs through a regional body rather than at the national level of the denomination.  These individuals often have the authority to serve as lead pastors at one specific congregation, but cannot transfer to another congregation. For some denominations that have minimum salary requirements for pastors with a seminary degree, this provides a way for under-resourced congregations to hire a pastor at a salary range that they can afford. Additionally, it provides a way for individuals who sense a call to pastoral ministry to fulfill that call at a more affordable cost rather than incurring debt from pursuing a more typical path of the graduate level seminary degree.

While some denominations formally require a graduate-level seminary degree to become an ordained pastor, not all do. The Church of the Nazarene is one such denomination that does not require a Master of Divinity to become an ordained pastor (Perl and Chang 2000) , although it does require that all candidates for ordination complete a nationally-recognized educational program. In the Church of the Nazarene, we define three levels of training for ministry.  Rather than being alternative certification processes, each level of certification is to lead to the next, culminating in ordination if the individual and his/her congregation continues to sense the person is called to pastoral ministry.    The first level is local, on-the-job training for ministry, referred to as the Licensed Local Minister credential. If individuals sense a call from God to enter into ministry as a profession and they have been involved in their local congregation for some time, the pastor may recommend them to the local church board.  The church board then makes the decision whether or not to grant the individuals the Local Minister’s License. Licensed Local Ministers may assume lay leadership positions within their local churches, but they do not hold the title/position of “pastor” or “reverend”. If she/he desires to obtain a District Minister’s License, she/he must then begin a Course of Study program at this time.  Validated Courses of Study include programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level, and include degrees such as B.A. in Christian Ministry, Pastoral Ministry, and Religion; an M.A. in Pastoral Ministry or Christian Formation and Discipleship, and a Master of Divinity.

The second level indicates a clergy person who has a combination of local, “on-the-job” training and educational training for ministry. For individuals in the Nazarene church, these are people who hold a District Minister’s License. At this level, individuals are recognized as clergy members even though they are not yet ordained.  In order to become Licensed District Ministers, they must serve as a Licensed Local Minister in their congregation for at least one year, and they must complete at least one-quarter of an approved Course of Study program. In addition to this, the board of their local church must recommend them to the District Board of Ministry.

We define the highest level as “fully credentialed ”. In the Church of the Nazarene, we classify ordained Elders, Deacons, and the Elder-Recognized as those who are fully credentialed at the national level. In order to be ordained, individuals must have completed a denominationally approved Course of Study through a Nazarene college, seminary, or university; and he or she must have served full-time in an assigned minister position for at least three consecutive years prior to being ordained.

In 2000, about 86 percent of senior or sole clergy (3,883 individuals) were fully credentialed and ordained. About 12 percent of senior or sole clergy (552 individuals) had a District Minister’s license, and only about 2.3 percent (106 individuals) held a Local Minister’s License. Although the total number of fully ordained senior or sole pastors declined from 2000 to 2019, as a percentage of all senior or sole clergy they gradually increased and reached almost 89 percent by 2019. The proportion of pastors who held a District Minister’s license decreased by only one percentage point over this time period. Although the total number of lead pastors with only a Local Minister’s License dropped considerably from 106 in 2000 to only 1 in 2019, this represents a decrease of about two percentage points. The fact that there was only one Local Licensed Minister serving as a sole pastor in 2019 is not surprising given the denominational requirements that ministers must have at least a District Minister’s License in order to pastor a congregation.

Past research has shown that the average age of clergy has been increasing since as early as the 1980s (Nesbitt 1995), and that the population of clergy is aging faster than the U.S. population in general (Chaves 2017). There are several reasons for this. During the 1980s and 1990s, the average age of seminary students had risen. In some denominatons, the number of “second-career” clergy has been increasing over the past few decades, and therefore the median age at ordination has also been rising.  Also, there has been a growing trend of young seminary graduates who choose to enter a career in non-parish ministry (Weems and Michel 2008). All of this has caused alarm for some denominational leaders, who fear that there will be a clergy shortage as more and more clergy from the “Baby Boomer” generation retire, leaving more vacancies than the number of pastors who can fill them (Crowe et. al. 2017).  Others are concerned that as the percentage of “second-career” clergy rises, they will have fewer years in which to gain the skills and experience necessary to pastor the largest churches.

While some denominational leaders view the aging clergy workforce in a negative light, others point out some of the positive aspects. For instance, some point out that one reason that the average age of clergy has been increasing is that many pastors, like other Americans, are retiring later in life than they have in the past.   Still other clergy continue to serve as pastors after they officially retire, often in part-time positions or as supply pastors. For congregations with limited resources, hiring a retired pastor on a part-time basis may be a cost-effective option since the congregations do not have to pay them a full-time salary with benefits.

How many senior or sole clergy are near the beginning of their pastoral careers, and how many are getting close to retirement? How has the average age of clergy changed over the past two decades? Does the average age of clergy who serve smaller churches differ from the average age of clergy who serve larger churches? To investigate the answers to these questions, we measure clergy age in two ways. We measure clergy age as age ranges: Clergy who are younger than 35 years old, 35 to 54 years, 55 to 72 years, and older than 72 years of age. We also measure age as a continuous, numerical variable in order to determine changes in average clergy age over time. We examine the proportion of senior and sole clergy in each of these age ranges, and how these proportions have shifted over the past twenty years.

In 2000, about 65 percent of senior and sole clergy were between the ages of 35 and 54 years of age and a little over a quarter of clergy were between 55 and 72 years old. Only eight percent of pastors were younger than 35 years of age, and less than one percent were over 72 years. An analysis of National Congregations Study reveals that the age patterns of Nazarene pastors align with the age patterns of lead pastors of all evangelical Protestant congregations in the U.S. as a whole. In 1998, about 65 percent of pastors leading evangelical churches were between the ages of 35 and 54 years, and 28 percent were 55 to 72 years of age. The share of all evangelical Protestant pastors who were younger than 35 years or older than 72 years were both slightly larger than the share of Nazarene pastors in these age ranges.

Between 2000 and 2019, a notable shift occurred in the percentage of Nazarene lead clergy between the ages of 35 and 54 years of age, and clergy between the ages of 55 and 72 years old. The percentage of clergy between the ages of 34 to 54 decreased by over 20 percentage points, and the percentage of clergy between 55 and 72 years of age increased by the same amount.. This shift follows the pattern of all pastors leading evangelical Protestant congregations. Among all pastors leading evangelical congregations, the proportion of pastors who were 35 to 54 years of age had dropped by 19 percentage points and the proportion of pastors between 55 and 72 years had increased by 17 percentage points. Whereas the percentage of Nazarene clergy younger than 35 years had dropped slightly, among all evangelical Protestant pastors this percentage increased by a small measure. The share of Nazarene lead pastors who were older than 72 had increased less than 5 percentage points, while the share of all evangelical pastors over 72 did not change from 1998 to 2018.

However, this shift can be explained by the gradual increase in average clergy age among Nazarene pastors and lead pastors of all evangelical churches as a whole.  Our analyses reveal that in 2000,the mean age of Nazarene clergy was 48 years of age, and that 68 percent of these pastors were between the ages of 38 to 58 years of age. By 2019, Nazarene pastors’ mean age had increased to 54 years, and 68% of these pastors were between the ages of 42 and 66 years of age. This means that Among pastors of evangelical churches, mean age increased from 50 years in 1998 to 53 years in 2019. Sixty-eight percent of all evangelical pastors were between the ages of 39 and 61 years of age in 1998. By 2018, this same percentage of evangelical pastors were between the ages of 42 and 64 years of age.

Once we examined the general characteristics of all lead pastors separately, we examined the relationship between pastors with various characteristics, such as between gender and levels of educational training for ministry, and between gender and age.

Are there significant differences between the percentage of female and percentage of male pastors with various levels of training for ministry? We use crosstabulations to examine this relationship.  In 2000, almost 60 percent of female lead pastors and about 86 percent of male lead pastors were ordained. About 32 percent of female lead clergy had a District Minister’s License, which was almost three times the percentage of male lead pastors with the same level of training for ministry. Almost 8 percent of female clergy had only a Local Minister’s License, whereas only 2 percent of male clergy had this same level of training.

By 2019, the proportion of female lead pastors who were ordained reached almost 80 percent, an increase of about 19 percentage points. The percentage of male lead pastors who were fully credentialed increased to almost 90 percent. The percentage of female pastors with a District Minister’s License declined to 20 percent in 2019, which was twice as high as the percentage of male clergy with the same level of training. Only one lead pastor (a woman) had only a Local Minister’s License.

Are there differences in the average age of men and women lead pastors? And has the average age of men and women pastors changed over time? To determine whether or not the average age of female lead pastors differs from that of men pastors, a Mann-Whitney U test was run to compare the medians of the two groups. Across all years, the median age of female pastors (54 years) was slightly higher than the median age of male pastors (52 years). In 2000, the median age for female pastors was 51, and 47 years for male pastors. By 2019, however, the median age of both male and female pastors was 55 years.

While the main focus of this report is on demographic characteristics of pastors who lead Nazarene congregations, we also want to examine differences between pastors with different attributes and the characteristics of the congregations that they lead. For instance, are there differences in average worship attendance between congregations with female lead pastors and those with male lead pastors? In order to do this, we first examine some of the characteristics of all Nazarene congregations and how these have changed over time.

There are three ways that researchers often measure the size of congregations: number of church members, number of regular participants, and average weekly worship attendance. The Church of the Nazarene collects data on both number of full members and average weekly worship attendance. We use average weekly worship attendance to measure congregations’ size attendance at worship services is the most accurate measure of religious participation (Chaves 2017). Weekly worship attendance is usually a more accurate measure than number of members, since congregations often do not keep their membership rolls up-to-date, and church members often do not officially transfer their membership even if they have stopped attending one congregation and have started attending another.

We measure average weekly worship attendance in two ways: average worship attendance ranges and raw number of average weekly worship attendance as recorded by each congregation. We use the following ranges for worship attendance: 25 people or fewer, 26 to 50 people, 51 to 100 people, 101 to 250 people, 251 to 500 people, 501 to 999 people, and over 1,000 people.

We first looked at the distribution of congregations by average worship attendance ranges and to what extent this changed over the past twenty years.  In 2000, 30 percent of congregations (1,492) had an average worship attendance that was between 51 to 100 individuals, followed by almost a quarter of congregations (1,209) with an average worship attendance of 26 to 50 people.

A little more than a fifth of congregations (1,077) had an average worship attendance of 101 to 250 individuals. About 16 percent of congregations had an average worship attendance of 25 or fewer people, which was twice as high as the percentage of all congregations with 251 or more in average worship attendance.

By 2019, 29 percent of congregations (1,454 congregations) had an average worship attendance of 25 or fewer individuals, which was the largest share of congregations in any one worship attendance range. This was a thirteen percentage-point increase compared to the proportion of congregations in this average worship attendance range in 2000. In 2000, over three-quarters of congregations had an average worship attendance that was between 26 and 250 individuals.

By 2019, slightly more than 78 percent of all congregations fell within the three lowest average worship attendance ranges combined. There was almost no change in the percentage of congregations with an average worship attendance of 501 to 999 individuals or those with an average worship attendance of 1,000 or more people.

Once we examined the distribution of congregations by average worship attendance ranges, we looked at median worship attendance and how this changed over time. Our trend analyses show that the median weekly worship attendance of all Nazarene congregations was 63 people in 2000 , and that this had declined to 45 individuals by 2019. This is a decrease of 29 percent.

Total church expenditures are measured by taking the sum of church expenditures on facilities, mission, programs, and personnel. The median total expenditures of Nazarene congregations was about $66,300 in 2000, and this had fallen to about $62,500 in 2019.

Next, we explore the relationships between attributes of pastors and characteristics of the churches they serve. For instance, are there differences in the average worship attendance and total church expenditures between congregations led by women and men? What about between congregations led by pastors within different age groups or with different levels of training for ministry? If so, have these differences changed over time?

We want to analyze whether or not there are gender disparities in terms of the median worship attendance of congregations that male and female clergy lead.  We begin by examining whether or not there are differences in the percentage of male and female clergy who lead congregations in different average worship attendance ranges. In 2000, 43 percent of women clergy pastored churches with an average worship attendance of 25 or fewer people. This was almost three times the percentage of men clergy who led congregations of this size. A little over a third of women and almost a quarter of men pastored congregations that had an average worship attendance of 26 to 50 people. The majority of women pastors (79 percent) led congregations that had 50 or fewer people in average worship attendance. This is over twice as high as the percentage of men who led congregations with 50 or fewer individuals in average worship attendance.

None of the female pastors led congregations with an average worship attendance of 251 or more individuals, and only 8 percent of men led congregations of this size.

The percentage of female clergy and male clergy leading congregations in the various average worship attendance ranges remained relatively stable over the past two decades. In general, both men and women pastors tend to serve smaller congregations, though the percentage of women is higher than the percentage of men who pastor smaller churches. Between 2000 and 2019, there was almost no change in the percentage of women who pastored congregations with an average worship attendance of 25 or fewer individuals. The proportion of men pastoring congregations of this size increased by about 9 percentage points from 2000 to 2019. In 2019, the proportion of both women and men clergy who led congregations of 26 to 50 people in average worship attendance remained the same as in 2000.

By 2019, about 76 percent of female pastors and 49 percent of male pastors led congregations of 50 or fewer people in worship attendance. This was an increase of about 11 percentage points for men, and a decrease of 3 percentage points for women. The proportion of male pastors leading churches with an average worship attendance of 51 to 250 individuals decreased by about 11 percentage points between 2000 and 2019. There was very little change in the percentage of women pastors leading congregations of this size between 2000 and 2019—an increase of just 2 percentage points.

Once we examined the percentage of male and female clergy who lead congregations in different average worship attendance ranges, we analyzed whether or not there are gender disparities in terms of the median worship attendance of congregations that male and female clergy lead. In 2000, female pastors served churches with less than half the median worship attendance (30 people) as churches served by male pastors (67 people).  Although the median worship attendance of churches served by women pastors fluctuated throughout the period of 2000 to 2019, by 2019 the median worship attendance remained at the same level as in 2000. The gender gap in size of congregations served by women and men pastors declined throughout the period of 2000 to 2019, but this is because the median worship attendance of churches served by men pastors declined to 52 people by 2019.

Are there gender disparities in the financial resources of congregations led by women compared to those led by men? If so, have these disparities persisted across time? We examine the median total expenditures of congregations led by men and women from 2000 to 2019 to answer these questions. We found that over the past two decades, women continued to lead congregations with less than half the financial resources of congregations led by men. We found that in 2000, the median total expenditures of churches led by women was a little less than $26,000, which was well under half that of churches led by men pastors (around $71,200). By 2019, median church expenditures of churches led by women had increased to about $30,600, which was a 15 percent increase. Median church expenditures led by men had increased by more than $7,500, or an increase of 10 percent. While median total expenditures of congregations led by women and men both increased over the past twenty years, in 2019 the total expenditures of congregations led by women was still less than half the total expenditures of congregations led by men. This points to continued gender disparity in terms of the financial resources of congregations led by women clergy compared to those led by men clergy.

Does average weekly worship attendance vary by level of training for ministry of the pastors serving the congregations? In order to answer this question, we first examine median worship attendance of congregations led by ordained pastors and pastors with a district minister’s license from 2000 to 2019. We find that in general, congregations led by ordained clergy tend to have a higher median worship attendance than congregations led by district ministers. In 2000, congregations led by ordained clergy had a median worship attendance of 73 individuals, which is almost twice as high as the median worship attendance of congregations led by a pastor with a district minister’s license.  By 2019, the median worship attendance of congregations led by ordained pastors declined to 53 worshippers. The median worship attendance of congregations led by district ministers declined from 39 worshippers in 2000 to 33 worshippers in 2019. While congregations led by district ministers also experienced a decline in worship attendance, the decline was not nearly as steep.

We also examined the relationship between pastors’ levels of training for ministry and average weekly worship attendance in ranges.  In general, congregations in higher average worship attendance tiers were more likely to have an ordained pastor than congregations in the lowest attendance tiers.  In 2000, the majority of congregations in all average worship attendance ranges were led by ordained elders, deacons, and elder-recognized pastors.  Ordained clergy-led 100 percent of all congregations with 251 or more in average worship attendance.  About two-thirds of congregations with 25 or fewer people in average worship attendance were led by ordained clergy.

Although most congregations were led by ordained clergy, there were still some congregations that were led by pastors with a district minister’s license and by lay ministers.  Almost a quarter of congregations with 25 or fewer attendees and almost a fifth of congregations with 26 to 50 attendees were led by a pastor with a district minister’s license.  Only 9 percent of congregations with an average worship attendance of 25 or fewer people were led by individuals with a local minister’s license—that is, lay leaders.  Individuals with only a local minister’s license did not lead any congregations with average weekly worship attendance of 101 or more attendees.

By 2019, there was a higher percentage of churches that were led by ordained clergy in the three lowest average worship attendance tiers than in 2000.  The greatest gains were made in the 25 or under worship attendance tier.  In 2019, 82 percent of congregations in this worship attendance tier were led by ordained clergy, an increase in 15 percentage points compared to 2000.  The gains made by the churches in the 26 to 50 and 51 to 100 worship attendance tiers were more modest, with an increase of 7 percentage points and about 3 percentage points, respectively.  By 2019, over 90 percent of all congregations with an average worship attendance of 51 or more worshippers were led by ordained pastors.

There were still some congregations that were led by pastors with a district minister’s license in 2019, although these percentages had dropped compared to 2000.  About 18 percent of congregations with an average worship attendance of 25 or fewer people and 15 percent of congregations with 26 to 50 worshippers had a pastor with a district minister’s license.  About 3 percent of congregations with 251 to 500 attendees and 1 percent of congregations with 501 to 999 attendees were led by a district minister.

By 2019, the median total expenditures of congregations led by ordained pastors was about $82,400, which is roughly $1,400 more than it was in 2000. However, median total expenditures for congregations led by pastors with a district minister’s license had dropped by almost $7,500 by 2019. Total expenditures of congregations led by district ministers was a third of that of congregations led by ordained pastors at about $26,800. It appears, then, that ordained lead pastors do serve congregations that have more economic resources than congregations served by lead pastors with only a district minister’s license.

Does the median worship attendance of congregations vary by the age of lead clergy? Has the average age of clergy changed over the past two decades?

Congregations with pastors who were 35-54 years of age had the highest median worship attendance throughout the period of 2000 to 2019, although the median attendance decreased from around 73 worshippers in 2000 to 60 worshippers in 2019. Congregations served by pastors over 72 years of age had a median worship attendance of only 27 people in 2000, and they experienced a very slight increase in median attendance by 2019. Congregations served by pastors in the two youngest age ranges started with the highest median worship attendance in 2000, and the steepest decline in worship attendance between 2000 and 2019.

Does the average age of clergy vary by congregational size? If so, have these patterns changed over time? To investigate this, we first analyze the relationship between the mean ages of lead pastors and average worship attendance in ranges. We found that in 2000, there was very little variance in mean ages of pastors leading congregations of different average worship attendance ranges. For instance, the mean age of pastors leading congregations with an average worship attendance of 25 or fewer individuals is 51 years of age, and the mean age of pastors leading congregations with an average worship attendance of 1,000 people was 50 years of age. Pastors leading congregations in three of the average worship attendance ranges had a mean age of 48 years, and pastors leading congregations in two of the worship attendance ranges had a mean age of 47 years.

In 2019, the mean age of pastors varied by average worship attendance of the congregations they led. In general, lower average worship attendance was associated with higher mean ages of the pastors who led them. Pastors leading congregations with 25 or fewer in average worship attendance had the highest mean age at 57 years, which was six years greater than the average age of pastors who led congregations of this size in 2000. Followed by pastors leading congregation with 26 to 50 in worship attendance at 55 years of age. The mean age of pastors leading congregations in the next three average worship attendance ranges was 53 years of age. While there was a gradual increase in mean age of pastors leading congregations in every average worship attendance range, the steepest increase in age was among pastors who led congregations of 26 to 50 in average worship attendance (increase in 7 years—reword this). For congregations with 1,000 or more in average worship attendance, the mean age of pastors actually decreased by one year from 2000 to 2019.

We first explore whether there are overall differences in the median total expenditures of congregations served by pastors in different age ranges.  Pastors who are between 35 to 54 years of age tend to serve congregations that are the most financially well-off. The median total expenditures of these churches is close to $89,500. Pastors younger than 35 years of age tend to lead congregations with median total expenditures of around $69,600, while pastors who are between 55 and 72 years of age lead congregations with median total expenditures of almost $69,000. Churches led by pastors who are over the age of 72 have median total expenditures of around $35,700.

In 2000, the median total expenditures of churches led by pastors between the ages of 35 and 54 was by far the highest at over $80,000. By 2019, median total expenditures for congregations led by this age group had risen to over $88,000.  The median total expenditures of churches with pastors over the age of 72 was the lowest at all time points, starting out at less than $27,000 in 2000 and rising to about $34,200 by 2019.  The total expenditures of churches led by pastors younger than 35 years was greater than total expenditures of churches led by pastors between 55 and 72 years in 2000. However, by 2019 the median total expenditures of churches led by pastors between 55 to 72 years surpassed the total expenditures of churches led by pastors younger than 35 years by about $3,000.

One of the main findings of our research on pastors in the Church of the Nazarene is that gender disparities persist, both in terms of percentage of senior or solo pastors who are women, and in terms of the amount of resources that congregations have. In 2000, women made up about 2.6 percent of all senior or solo clergy, which is slightly higher than the percentage of all senior or solo clergy serving conservative/evangelical congregations in 1998 who were women (2.0 percent, NCS data). By 2019, the percentage of Nazarene congregations led by female clergy increased to about 9 percent, which is close to the percentage of all lead pastors of U.S. congregations who are women (8.7 percent). Women clergy in the Nazarene church fared better than their female counterparts in all evangelical Protestant churches, however. The percentage of all evangelical Protestant churches led by women decreased slightly to 1.1 percent by 2018 (NCS data).

Large gender disparities in worship attendance persisted throughout the twenty-year period of our study. In 2000, the median worship attendance of churches served by female lead pastors was 30 worshipers, which was about half of the median worship attendance of churches served by male lead pastors at that time (61 worshipers). By 2019, the median worship attendance of congregations led by female pastors remained at the same level as in 2000. While the median worship attendance of congregations led by male pastors decreased over this twenty-year period, by 2019 congregations led by male pastors were still larger than congregations led by female pastors. Moreover, over 40 percent of female lead clergy led congregations with 25 or fewer people in average worship attendance, and this percentage had changed very little by 2019.

Gender disparities in terms of congregations’ economic resources persisted throughout the period of 2000-2019, too. In 2000 the median total expenditures of congregations led by women was less than $26,000, which is less than half the median total expenditures of congregations led by men (around $71,200). While median total expenditures of congregations led by women and those led by men increased from 2000 to 2019, by 2019, the total expenditures of congregations led by men were still over twice as high as expenditures of female-led congregations.

These findings are consistent with the findings of past research studies, which show that female clergy tend to lead congregations with fewer human resources (in terms of active participants) and fewer economic resources (Konieczny and Chaves YEAR; Mueller and McDuff 2002). Other studies have shown that even in some denominations with the greatest proportion of women clergy leading congregations, women clergy experience flatter career trajectories than men, and all of the highest-level pastoral positions were held by men (Nesbitt 1995).

Our initial goal was to determine for each denomination in our study the extent to which denominations are staffing lead pastoral positions with individuals who have a graduate seminary degree versus those who have gone through alternative credentialing processes.  However, the Church of the Nazarene does not have an alternative credentialing process.  Instead, all candidates for ordination must complete a nationally-validated Course of Study program at either the undergraduate or graduate seminary level.

Therefore, we examined whether or not there have been changes in the proportion of congregations that are led by ordained clergy versus by clergy who have only partially completed credentialling requirements, such as a district minister’s license.  We found that in 2000, 86 percent of lead pastors were ordained clergy, and 12 percent were licensed district ministers, and that these percentages remained relatively stable from 2000 to 2019.   We also discovered that a majority of congregations in even the lowest average worship attendance ranges were led by ordained clergy.  For instance, in 2000, 67 percent of churches with 25 or fewer worshippers and 79 percent of churches with 26 to 50 worshippers were led by ordained pastors.  By 2019, an even higher percentage of churches in these two average worship attendance ranges were led by ordained clergy. This suggests that as a denomination, the Church of the Nazarene places a strong emphasis on formal educational training for ministry, and that standards for credentialing have remained the same, if not become higher, over the past twenty years.

We also wanted to examine whether or not ordained clergy tend to lead congregations with more resources than the congregations led by licensed district ministers.  We first compared the median worship attendance (a measure of human resources) and median total expenditures of congregations led by ordained clergy with those of congregations led by licensed district ministers.  We find that in general, congregations led by ordained clergy do tend to have higher median worship attendance and expenditures than congregations led by clergy with a district minister’s license.  In 2000, congregations led by ordained clergy had a median worship attendance and median total expenditures that were about twice as high as those of congregations led by licensed district ministers. By 2019, congregations led by ordained pastors still had higher worship attendance levels and higher total expenditures than congregations led by licensed district ministers. This suggests that congregations with fewer economic resources are more likely to hire licensed district ministers to fill senior or solo pastor positions than congregations that are better off financially.

Our research indicates that the population of Nazarene lead pastors is aging at a faster rate than the population of all U.S. lead pastors.   We found that the average age of all Nazarene lead pastors has increased from 48 years of age in 2000 to 54 years in 2019, which is an increase of six years over this twenty-year timespan.  Among lead pastors of all congregations in the U.S., the average age increased from 52 years in 1998 to 55 years of age in 2018 (NCS cumulative data), which is an age increase of about three years for about the same time period.

We also wanted to examine how many senior or sole clergy were near the beginning of their pastoral careers, and how many were getting close to retirement age.  We found that in 2000, about 65 percent of senior and sole clergy were between the ages of 35 and 54 years of age and a little over a quarter of clergy were between 55 and 72 years old. Only eight percent of pastors were younger than 35 years of age, and less than one percent were over 72 years.  By 2019, the proportion of clergy aged 35 to 54 had dropped to 45 percent of all lead pastors, and clergy between the ages of 55 and 72 comprised 45 percent of all pastors leading Nazarene congregations.  No other age range experienced a shift as dramatic as this.  One possible explanation for this is the aging of the baby boom generation.  In the Nazarene church, those in the baby boomer generation comprised almost 59 percent of all North American pastors in 1996, and by 2005 this percentage had grown to 67 percent (Crow 2006).  The U.S. Census projects that by 2030, all individuals who belong to the “baby boomer” generation will have surpassed 65 years of age (Vespa et.al. 2017), and that people aged 65 and older will make up 20 percent of the entire U.S. population.

We also wanted to determine whether or not clergy of certain age ranges serve congregations with fewer resources than congregations served by younger clergy.  To do this, we examined variation in churches’ average worship attendance by age ranges of pastors who lead the churches.  We found that pastors who are over 72 years (well past retirement) do tend to be lead pastors for the smallest congregations. In 2000, pastors over age 72 led congregations with the lowest median worship attendance at 27 individuals, and this attendance level remained almost the same by 2019.  Pastors between the ages of 35 and 54 led congregations with the highest median worship attendance (73 worshippers) in 2000.  Pastors in this age range still led congregations with the highest median attendance level in 2019, though median worship attendance had declined to 60 worshippers.

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While we can learn much from our research about the characteristics of senior and solo pastors and the congregations they serve, we know much less about those who serve as associate pastors.  Yet from our data, we know that there were over 1,700 pastors who were not lead pastors, and that this number had increased to over 3,800 by 2019.  A previous study of Nazarene clergy showed that a much higher proportion of associate pastors than senior pastors were young clergy (21 to 30 years of age) (Crow 2006).  Also, research on clergy in some mainline denominations has shown that a disproportionate share of female clergy serve as assistant or associate pastors compared to men (Nesbitt 1995).  More research on clergy serving in roles other than as senior pastors would give us a much richer understanding of the American religious workforce.

¹ Cunningham, Floyd, Ed., Stan Ingersol, Harold E. Raser, and David P. Whitelaw. 2009. Our Watchword & Song: the Centennial History of the Church of the Nazarene. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press.

² Houseal, Richard. “Women Clergy in the Church of the Nazarene: An Analysis of Change from 1908 to 1995.” M.A. Thesis, U. of Missouri-Kansas City, 1996, p. 22, 72. Cited in Cunningham, Floyd, Ed., Stan Ingersol, Harold E. Raser, and David P. Whitelaw. 2009. Our Watchword & Song: the Centennial History of the Church of the Nazarene. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press.

³ Cunningham, Floyd, Ed., Stan Ingersol, Harold E. Raser, and David P. Whitelaw. 2009. Our Watchword & Song: the Centennial History of the Church of the Nazarene. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press.

⁴ This is in contrast to some denominations such as the United Methodist Church, in which Course of Study provides a less intensive route to pastoral certification than the typical graduate seminary degrees.

⁵ Ibid.

⁶ USA/Canda Region: Validated Course of Study Curriculums, Church of the Nazarene USA/Canada, https://nazarene.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/USA-CanadaRegion_ValidatedCOSroster_2019-03.pdf, retrieved on April 13, 2021.

⁷ Ibid.

⁸ Church of the Nazarene, United States and Canada Region. 2017. Guide to Ministerial Preparation and Ordination. https://nazarene.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/GuideToMinisterialPrepAndOrdination.pdf. Retrieved on April 12, 2021.

⁹ See, for instance, Weems, Lovett H. and Ann A. Michel. 2008. The Crisis of Younger Clergy. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press that describes clergy age trends in the UMC; DeHoek, Adam and Kenneth Inskeep. “The Supply of and Demand for Clergy in the ELCA.” (March 2016); and Chapter 6 in Chaves, Mark. 2017, American Religion: Contemporary Trends, 2nd Ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

¹⁰ Crosstabulations were run for gender by level of training for ministry for years 2000 and 2019. The Pearson chi-square showed that the relationship between these two variables is statistically significant (p < .001). However, the relationship is very weak (Cramer’s V = .082).

¹¹ A visual inspection of boxplots of age distributions for men and women clergy showed that there were outliers in male clergy ages. Therefore, A Mann-Whitney U test was conducted rather than an independent samples t-test to determine if average age of male and female clergy differed from one another.

¹² The difference in age between female and male pastors was statistically significant when all years were included in the analysis (U = 104,582,987.0, Z = -53.065, p < .001).

¹³ The differences in age between female and male pastors was statistically significant when the Mann-Whitney U test was run on year 2000 data (U = 218,249.5, Z = -2.688, p = 0.007).

¹⁴ Descriptive statistics were run for average weekly worship attendance, number of full members, total expenditures, total expenditures on clergy and staff salary and benefits, and net assets. Examination of skewness revealed that all of these variables have a non-normal distribution and are highly skewed to the right. Therefore, we report medians rather than means for these variables.

¹⁵ Mann-Whitney U tests were run to analyze data for all years. The difference of median worship attendance of churches led by male pastors and those led by female pastors was statistically significant (Mann-Whitney U = 104,575,452.0, Z = -53.066, p < .001).

¹⁶ These results were statistically significant (Mann-Whitney U = 125,004.0, Z = -10.101, p < .001).

¹⁷ Mann-Whitney U test was run to analyze median worship attendance of churches led by women and men pastors in 2019. The difference in median worship attendance of the two groups was statistically significant (Mann-Whitney U = 482,590.5, Z = -12.066, p < .001).

¹⁸ Mann-Whitney U tests were run to analyze data for all years. The difference in median total expenditures of churches led by women and those led by men was statistically significant (Mann-Whitney U = 104,582,987.0, Z = -53.065, p < .001).

¹⁹ Mann-Whitney U test was run to analyze data for year 2000. The difference in median total expenditures of churches led by female pastors and churches led by male pastors was statistically significant (Mann-Whitney U = 125,004.0, Z = -10.101, p < .001).

²⁰ Mann-Whitney U test was run to analyze data for year 2019. The difference in median total expenditures of churches led by female pastors and churches led by male pastors was statistically significant (Mann-Whitney U = 460,319.0, Z = -13.016, p < .001).

²¹ There were a notable number of cases that were missing data for pastor’s age. Of congregations with an average worship attendance of 25 or fewer, 20 percent of the cases were missing data on pastor’s age. This was followed by about 11 percent of cases for congregations with 26 to 50 in worship attendance, and 8 percent of cases with 501 to 999 in worship attendance.

²² See Appendix B, Table 4.

²³ However, in 2019 29 percent of congregations with 25 or fewer in average worship attendance were missing data on pastors’ ages, and 11 percent of congregations with 26 to 50 in average worship attendance were missing data on pastors’ ages.