5 Reasons Why Churches Are No Longer Training Leaders

Where are the pastors and missionaries for the next generation? Where are the leaders to be trained? The laborers have always been few (Luke 10:2). But why do they seem even fewer in the twenty-first century? Even more troubling, why are so many churches today no longer training leaders? Here are five possible reasons.

1. Churches Are Not Actively Looking to Grow and Train Leaders

Look at the church budget. Examine where the pastor spends his time. Scrutinize the core values, ministry philosophy, and organizational structure of the church. If few resources of money, minutes, and manpower are dedicated to leadership training, then the church is not actively looking to grow and train leaders. God can raise up leaders out of nowhere, but He has commanded leaders to train leaders (2 Timothy 2:2). Leadership training rarely happens by accident. Few churches prepare leaders well as an afterthought.

2. Some Pastors Fear Losing Power

I wish this were not a factor. How can a spiritually mature pastor fall into this trap? But I’ve seen it. They hesitate to train men for ministry because they fear that younger men may outshine them or make mistakes that will damage their credibility due to their inexperience. Pastors limit their assistant’s preaching time to keep them in their place and curtail their influence. I’ve even seen pastors delay an assistant’s ordination or call them “assistant to the pastor” for years which keeps the power structure clear with them–the only ordained preacher–on top. Then, pastors wonder why people with talent and potential leave. They ask where the youth have gone. And they complain that they have no one to take their place over their elderly congregation when they retire.

3. Discipleship Is Often Limited to New Believers

Sometimes, churches fail to train leaders because they stop discipling individuals too soon. Discipleship can become a program rather than a dynamic process of training, encouragement, and growth. Discipleship is not a class to be passed but a life to be lived. Mentoring and growth should continue from spiritual infancy through ever-deepening spiritual maturity.

Too often, the pastor’s time is taken up with those who refuse to grow. The squeaky wheel should not always get the oil. In Jesus’ earthly ministry, He spent more time training the twelve apostles than conversing with the multitudes who fell away or combating the Pharisees who opposed him.

Pastors need to identify disciples who are growing and serving and then focus their energies on equipping them for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11–12).¹ When counseling the wayward crowds out equipping the faithful, something is out of balance, and leaders do not get trained.

4. Evangelism Has Waned, Leading to Stagnation

Sometimes leadership training does not happen because the pipeline has shut off. A healthy church shares the gospel often with many people. Some of these respond to God’s working in their hearts and trust on Jesus Christ for salvation. The church then disciples these new believers, and they grow to consistently overcome sin and faithfully serve in the church. A percentage of these growing believers become potential teachers and leaders who must be identified and equipped. This should be an ongoing cycle.

However, when the pipeline of evangelism slows to a drip. This trickles down to less disciples and eventually no potential leaders to train. And the church stagnates and declines.

5. Potential Leaders See No Path toward Ministry

Sometimes a church does not train leaders because the leadership has not communicated clearly with potential leaders. Becoming a pastor or a missionary may seem like an unattainable dream or the process so daunting that they do not even think to step out and see if God might lead them toward ministry. A simple process–including discipleship, practical service, theological training, and a possible internship–can embolden maturing believers to just take the next step in the process. Even better, if they see others go before them, potential leaders will be inspired to follow them as they follow Christ. Without clarity from church leadership, some potential leaders may never emerge. They need encouragement, guidance, and a clear path forward.

Conclusion: Prioritize Training Leaders

If churches are to plant churches or even just survive into the next generation, leaders must be trained. This begins with the local church and its pastor. Look for potential leaders to train. Do not fear being overshadowed by younger leaders. Prioritize discipling and equipping those with potential. Mobilize the church to share the gospel so that believers multiply and the number of potential leaders increase. Finally, make the path toward leadership clear for those God may move and mature to serve in this capacity.

What might happen if leadership training flourished at your church?

• Your church will probably lose good people. You might end up training leaders for other ministries. But this is great! Be like the church at Antioch who trained Saul and sent him out. What if the church at Antioch had selfishly kept him there?
• Developing leaders will tend to attract more potential leaders. As they learn and serve in the church, they also help jump start the cycle of evangelism, discipleship, and leadership training.
• The pastor will probably need to preach less because he will give more opportunities to those he is training.
• Doors will open that you cannot anticipate as you faithfully train others in God’s work.

1. A good example of this is pastor Charles Simeon’s mentoring of a university tutor, Henry Martyn, who became a missionary to India and Iran. Read more in my missions devotional, Daring Decision: A 31-Day Journey with those who Followed God’s Leading, available Fall 2025. For more details, see www.mrconrad.net. ↩︎

Photo Credit: Debby Hudson on Unsplash