Covenant News

Covenant Fares Well in Attracting Young Pastors

CHICAGO, IL (November 14, 2001) - Ministers age 35 and under may be an increasingly rare breed in other denominations, but the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) enjoys a significant percentage of those in that age group, according to recent statistics. And that bodes well for the future of Covenant ministry.

The ECC has about 13 percent of its pastors in the 35-and-under range, according to Covenant pension reports. Of 763 Covenant pastors, 102 are in the 35-and-under age range. In the Presbyterian Church (USA), the number of those 35 and under is seven percent. The Episcopal Church fares even worse, with just four percent of clergy falling into the younger age range.

The Alban Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, researched various denominations for its spring magazine publication. Other groups cited in the 2000 study include the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod with eight percent of its clergy in the 35-and-under group and the Roman Catholic Church with six percent of its priests falling into that age category.

Eleven percent of Covenant pastors are between the ages of 36 and 40, and 23 percent fall into the 46-to-50 age group, according to Covenant pension statistics. The mean age of Covenant pastors is 46, a bit younger than the median age of 50 reflected in a recent Barna Research study of 1,865 senior pastors.

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