Hesston College’s Center for Anabaptist Leadership and Learning, or CALL, will host a Weekend College event on March 25-26 on the topic, “Where Have All the Pastors Gone?” The event will occur in-person at Hesston College and online.

CALL faculty members Michele Hershberger, Jessica Schrock-Ringenberg and Nick Ladd created this Weekend College event in response to an exodus of traditionally-educated pastors away from church leadership positions. There are more open positions than there are candidates, and so pastoral roles sit empty. “Where Have All the Pastors Gone?” aims to identify potential reasons for gaps in church leadership and suggest new models for congregations to create biblical leadership structures.

Weekend College activities begin on Friday, March 25 with programming focused on naming and understanding barriers to “cultivating call” in church congregations. On the morning of Saturday, March 26, participants will work to identify unhealthy patterns of behavior in current church structures, leading to an examination of what it might take to become a more biblical church in behavior and leadership on Saturday afternoon. The focus of this Weekend College’s programming will be on creating a culture of active discipleship that rebuilds community and fosters leadership.

“We don’t like to look at the real reason for the lack of leadership in our church, because the real reasons reflect how we live out our faith,” said Nick Ladd, Bible and religion professor at Hesston College and CALL Weekend College faculty member. “It is simpler to just come on Sunday morning for an hour and twenty minutes than it is to come together, to discuss something, and to encourage each other.”

The cost to attend the event in person or online is $75 per individual, $50 per person for groups of three or more from the same congregation. Registration can be made online at www.hesston.edu/weekendcollege. In the event of elevated COVID risk the event will be moved entirely online.