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IDENTIFYING. FORMING. EMPOWERING. FUTURE LEADERS FOR THE CHURCH. |
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The crisis is real. Many pastors are nearing retirement and churches are closing. What happens when the lights go out? Read our Executive Director’s thoughtful essay below. There is also hope as local churches prayerfully develop their emerging leaders, and we are grateful for partnership with Stephens Christian Trust to foster that formation. |
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Stephens Christian Trust awards grant |
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Bronwyn Alexander, Director of Communications and Development |
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Good news! We have been awarded a grant by Stephens Christian Trust to convene a church residency and mentoring collaborative, allowing church residency leaders to share and build on best practices for forming young church leaders and developing leadership pipelines. Nashville-based Stephens Christian Trust invests in healthcare, agri-missions, Christian education and evangelism to bring hope, healing, and good news to the world. |
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Dr. Trygve D. Johnson, Executive Director |
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It started with a quiet alarm I've been carrying for a while. The kind that hums underneath things. There are more Protestant pastors over age 65 than under 40 in America right now. Fifteen thousand churches will close this year alone. One in four pastors plans to retire before 2030. That is not background noise. That is a crisis—with consequences that reach far beyond Sunday morning into the neighborhoods and families and human lives that the church has been quietly holding together for generations. |
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A deeper question lies beyond the institutional dilemma. It's human. What happens to people—to you, to me, to the person down the street who is carrying something they have no language for—when the gospel goes unpreached? When the one word the human heart cannot speak over itself goes silent? |
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The word is beloved. And it needs someone to say it. |
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Delve into my three-part series about the crisis in the Church, the gospel underneath the crisis, and the invitation that has been waiting underneath both—to come home. Not perfectly. Not with everything resolved. Just home. Back to the table. Back to the room where the broken and the beloved gather and remember who they are. |
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My series, When the Lights Go Out, is hosted on Substack and I invite you to follow me there in my substack entitled, The Kingfisher Study. You will find insights on church leadership, vocation, and formation—and other essays and timely reflections on cultural and ecclesial moments. |
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Investing in the future of the Church |
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Next month, we announce our inaugural 2026-27 cohort of PreachFor America Fellows. And by end-2026, we will have committed to an expanded number of Fellows and Host Churches for the 2027-28 cohort. We invite your financial investment to launch these Fellows into ministry, multiply thriving congregations, and impact communities for years to come with faithful pastoral presence and servant leadership. Give online now or explore all of our giving options at the link below. PreachFor, churches and emerging leaders need your support! |
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| Don Kanak at Brick ChurchOn May 10th, PreachFor Chairman Don Kanak, visited the Brick Church in NYC. Introduced by the senior minister, Rev. Dr. Tom Evans, Don announced the collaboration with Brick to launch the PreachFor America Fellowship. |
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The Church Matters!PreachFor Executive Director, Dr. Trygve Johnson, Chairman Don Kanak, host church pastor Rev. Jon Brown, and seminarians weigh in on the need for exceptional new leaders for Church, and a sustainable model that integrates robust work with a meaningful wage, mentoring, concurrent graduate study, and deep formation. Please share our video with supporters, potential Fellows, and campus ministries. |
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