The following is an excerpt from an article previously published on the Lake Union Herald website
lakeunionherald.org

Five Parishioners Trade Pews for Pulpits

When Jeff Veldman decided to become more involved in his home church, he knew the perfect job for him: running the public address system. “I’m a ‘Don’t look at me!’ kind of guy,” Veldman admits. “I never want to be up front or in the spotlight.”

Becoming a pastor was the furthest thing from Veldman’s mind. “It wasn’t even on my radar,” he says. “When I graduated from Wisconsin Academy, I went straight to work. For the next 30 years I was a herdsman, first on my uncle’s dairy farm and then someone else’s. I also did other farming jobs and worked in a feed mill and with utilities for a time. “God kept stretching me in His service,” Veldman explains. “I accepted a wide range of church offices over the years. I started working online toward an associate degree in Bible—which I finished. I remember thinking, ‘Just don’t ask me to preach!’”

Clearly, God had more plans for this volunteer. Currently, Veldman pastors the Superior, Ashland and Hayward churches in Wisconsin, along with a church plant in Herbster.

“Pastoring was quite the leap for me,” Veldman remembers, ‘from pew to pulpit!’ I started with prison ministry and as a part-time lay pastor, while retaining some of my other church and non-church jobs.” Eventually, when the conference decided a full-time minister was needed, Veldman’s congregation made a request, “May we please have Jeff?”

When the official call to full-time ministry came, Veldman and his wife repeatedly prayed, “Close or open doors, according to Your will.” They knew full-time pastoring would require many changes at a life stage when most people are gearing down, not up. Accepting a multi-church appointment would mean relocating and other adjustments, including professional sacrifices for Veldman’s wife. These they accepted and never looked back.

As Veldman reviews his work history, he admits that farming and pastoring aren’t as different as one might think. “On the farm,” Veldman explains, “you’re on call seven days a week. Any time of the night or day, your plans can be derailed by a birthing, a storm, machinery breaking down, or cattle getting out. You learn to expect surprises. Pastoring is much the same. You never know what a day will bring.”

Pastoring, Veldman discovered, also presents unique challenges. While he yearns to know his congregations better, they and Veldman acknowledge that this takes time. With four churches, Veldman typically sees most of his congregants just once a month. The round trip from home to his farthest church takes two hours and 40 minutes. “I use that driving time to pray, meditate or listen to recorded books and podcasts,” Veldman shares. “My wife always comes to Sabbath services with me. On the longer drives especially, we enjoy that together time. Occasionally, she also accompanies me mid-week for visitation or Bible studies.” Veldman laughs when he says, “She always lights up faces when the people see her. Sometimes I think they’re happier to see her than me!”

While Veldman finds strength and encouragement throughout Scripture, one verse particularly speaks to him: “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” (I Timothy 1:12 NKJV). To anyone at any life stage who may be considering pastoring, Veldman advises them to pray earnestly and ask for direction. “If you’re married, be sure your spouse can support this direction for your lives,” he adds. “Your spouse must be ‘all in.’ And remember, you’re never too old to serve the Lord!”

Though Veldman’s move to ministry may seem the exception, current trends suggest we will be seeing more people following in his footsteps. “I in 4 Pastors Plan to Retire Before 2030,” announces a recent Christianity Today headline. Citing research from the Barna Group, the article states, “In 2022, just 16 percent of Protestant senior pastors were 40 years or younger. The average age of a pastor is 52. Thirty years ago, 33 percent of US pastors were under 40, and the median age was 44.”i The numbers speak for themselves: we are witnessing the “graying” of our clergy.

The situation in the Adventist church is no exception. According to Rodney Palmer, chair of the undergraduate religion and biblical languages department at Andrews University, just five university undergraduates with no previous college experience enrolled during the fall 2023 semester. About a decade ago, the numbers were 15–20. Several sister institutions are experiencing similar declines.

Alarm bells are sounding. In the next five years, says Ivan Williams, North American Division ministerial director, 2,000 new pastors will be required to fill openings created by retirements in the NAD. In 2022, the most recent year available, only 82 theology majors graduated from undergraduate programs in all the NAD Adventist colleges and universities, according to Carl Cosaert, chair of the School of Religion at Walla Walla University, who keeps track of these numbers. While the situation seems bleak, Luis Fernando Ortiz, director of the MDiv program and adjunct professor of Christian ministry at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University, acknowledges that one easy place to start is through local church members encouraging youth with potential to choose pastoring and teaching occupations.

Ortiz admits, however, that many young Adventists have become disillusioned with their church. Pastoring no longer seems to be the attractive choice that it once was. When asked why so many of their peers reject a career in ministry specifically, and church employment generally, young church members often list these reasons: inadequate compensation, work-life balance challenges, hierarchical work structure, equity and inclusion issues, and insufficient resources to foster employee success and satisfaction. In short, the widespread perception among the young is that the demands of ministry are too numerous and onerous, and the rewards too few.

Priorities and perceptions can and do change, however. Some Adventists, after enjoying fulfilling, successful careers, choose to set them aside and join the ministry instead. According to Ortiz, over the last ten years about 40–50 percent of students entering the seminary are second-career students. The reason most often given for abandoning a career and pursuing ministry? Divine calling.

Beverly Matiko, a retired English and communication professor, lives in southwest Michigan. She enjoys writing, conversation, public speaking (including preaching), and just about anything involving words—except call-in radio shows.