Small congregations—those with 100 members or fewer –make up the majority of U.S. Protestant churches, and in those pulpits, there’s still a shortage of ministers

After a decade-long clergy shortage in America’s pulpits, Christian denominations are now experiencing a clergy glut—with some denominations reporting two ministers for every vacant pulpit.

“We have a serious surplus of ministers and candidates seeking calls,” said Marcia Myers, director of the vocation office for the Presbyterian Church (USA), which has four ministers for every opening.

The cause of the sudden turnaround: blame the bad economy.

According to PC(USA) data, there are 532 vacancies for 2,271 ministers seeking positions. The Assemblies of God, United Methodist Church, Church of the Nazarene and other Protestant denominations also report significant surpluses.

Cash-strapped parishioners—who were already aging and shrinking in number—have given less to their churches, resulting in staff cuts. Meanwhile, older clergy who saw their retirement funds evaporate are delaying retirement, leaving fewer positions available to younger ministers.

“With the employment prospects both in and out of the church being slim, those who are employed are not likely to leave”—at least not voluntarily, Myers said.

All that adds up to a clergy glut—a dramatic shift for denominations and seminaries that had once recruited young ministers to combat the “clergy shortage.” Now seminary graduates struggle to find ministerial employment.

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