The Young Pastor’s Initiative: Investing in the Future of Pastoral Leadership

In 2016 MMBB launched the Young Pastor’s Initiative as part of our strategy to connect with younger pastoral leaders. We especially wanted to learn what the priorities and challenges were for pastors/ministers age 18-45 as they consider their current financial circumstances and project ahead to their future needs.

Although the age range for young pastors is typically 18-35, we selected a wider scope to capture not only young pastors and younger seminarians, but also second-career pastors and seminarians, and bi-vocational pastors as well as those who have not (yet) attended seminary.

We understand that each age demographic has varying needs at different stages of their lives and we kept that in mind when we designed the focus groups. Hearing directly from young pastors is critical to ensure that we address their expressed concerns to help them chart a course to achieve financial well-being now and into the future. We especially wanted to find out what young pastors and clergy already know about MMBB’s ministry and establish greater brand awareness and value for the services we offer. Our goal was to gather data and “take the temperature” of this demographic based on the responses we received.

Twelve focus groups averaging 8-10 participants were held over a six-month period. All the groups were diverse in terms of gender, age, ethnicity and denominational affiliation and included MMBB members and non-members. In order to assess varying regional needs, MMBB staff moderated groups in the Southeast, Northeast, Midwest and the West Coast/Pacific Northwest. To insure consistency and gain valuable analytics, each MMBB staff person who served as moderator was given a template of questions that focused on the following categories:

• Thoughts about saving
• Thoughts about MMBB
• Best ways to reach pastors in the target audiences
• Enrolling in MMBB
• Other thoughts on their mind

Although regional differences emerged, the common concerns were seminary debt, questions about adequate compensation and about how to negotiate compensation.

Based on research conducted in 2015, we learned that young pastoral leaders whether MMBB members or non-members, were concerned about financial wellness and debt. They cited outstanding student loans and lack of knowledge of financial management as issues which cause them the most stress. Younger pastors are much more likely to be interested in education on personal financial management and planning. Responses from the focus groups affirmed the need for greater financial management tools, particularly when it came to finding ways to increase savings. One 27- year-old pastor noted, “I realize that not planning for the future is not an option. But I need help with how to do that given what I am earning.”

“One minister who is also a chaplain spoke of “the need for MMBB to let young pastors see your heart and your commitment to this ministry.”

Feedback ranged from acknowledging that “not knowing how much to save has influenced whether they thought saving was important” to “a pastor’s salary is not enough to live on and save” and admitting to “having to make a tradeoff between having funds to live on in the present versus saving for retirement.” Another pastor observed, “It can be challenging to remember that I am planning for the future and that means deferring gratification for some of the “now” items I want and in some cases, need.”

When asked about financial matters that are important to them at this point in their personal lives and professional ministry, the overwhelming feedback in all regions centered around “managing student loans,” “eliminating debt,” and “debt management.” Unfortunately, this was not a surprise given that our research has revealed that debt stress is twice as high among pastors as the average American. This is one area that will need even greater emphasis as we expand our connection and support to young pastors.

Although there were several participants who were unfamiliar with MMBB, those that knew of MMBB held favorable opinions about MMBB including that we “advocate for pastors,” “are thought of as reliable, accessible and stable” and “MMBB had a presence in seminaries.” When it was mentioned that financial planning is a benefit of membership at MMBB, one pastor volunteered, “If a financial planner can make the connection between working with them and an improvement in my finances, that would increase the value for me of being a member of MMBB.”

Some of the biggest takeaways were their suggestions for engaging younger pastors. It was no surprise that social media was highlighted as an important communications tool to reach younger pastoral leaders but several also reiterated that social media should not replace interacting with a staff person by phone or face-to-face. One minister who is also a chaplain spoke of “the need for MMBB to let young pastors see your heart and your commitment to this ministry.” As we formulate a more targeted strategy to serve this demographic we are planning to follow up on our findings by connecting even earlier with young ministers in seminary, promoting financial literacy as a path to financial wellness, and enlisting younger members who can share the benefits of MMBB membership firsthand.