The Advent Christian Denomination Needs to be Restructured

Nearly two years ago, Nathaniel Bickford wrote an article that shook the Advent Christian denomination to its core. He pointed out that we have problems that demand solutions - too few leaders, too many positions, and no denominational standards that would uphold orthodoxy and guard against the perversion of God’s Word. I endorsed his observations in a follow-up article and called for Advent Christian leaders to open up conversation on these matters. To their credit, the Eastern Region board invited us to share our thoughts with them. Likewise, at the Triennial convention, Nathaniel and I will be on a town hall panel discussing denominational restructuring. Our leaders are to be commended for welcoming these considerations.

In two years time, the need for restructuring has only increased. What will follow is a review of recent numbers I have received from the ACGC office that signal this need.

The Number of Denominational Positions

The Advent Christian denomination currently consists of one Advent Christian General Conference, five Regions, and twenty-two Conferences. The Executive Council of ACGC is partially made up of members serving in regional positions (presidents and regional reps) and regional boards are partially manned by presidents of the conferences within region. Counting positions from the bodies in which they originate, this means the Executive Council requires 5 positions besides regional presidents and representatives, each region requires 5 positions besides conference presidents, and I have estimated that each conference requires 6 persons to be fully functional.* Taken together, the total number of positions for these basic denominational bodies is 162 persons.

Besides this, I have counted that 40 persons would be required to fill all the committees and boards of the Advent Christian General Conference. I have not been able to count the various committees/boards that may also be features of our regions, conferences, and campgrounds. The total figure of 202 is a modest estimate sufficient to demonstrate cause for concern.

The Number of Churches

The current number of Advent Christian churches in 2023 is 244. It is reasonable to expect that this number will be lower in 2024. In 2000 we had 303 churches. In 2015 we had 268 churches. Brought to the present, that’s a rate of losing 2.5-3 churches every year. We have reason to believe this will continue; the Summer ‘23 issue of The Advent Christian Witness reports that 64% of Advent Christian churches have a weekly attendance of less than 40 people. At this rate, it would take about 81 years for every single Advent Christian church to close. I doubt the rate would remain constant to that end, but if we lose 60 churches in the next 20 years will the denomination remain? We have reason for concern.

The Number of Pastors

By latest count from the ACGC office, we have a total of 241 persons in active pastoral ministry consisting of solo/senior pastors, assistant pastors, and interim pastors. Of that number, 119 (59%) are over the age of 60. Of those who are solo/senior pastors (196) 63% are over the age of 60. Working with the kinder figure of 59% and with the unrealistically generous assumption that we have 15 years to replace these pastors, we would need to introduce 8 new pastors into Advent Christian ministry every year. While we should applaud and support the work of the Ministry Training Institute, we must admit that MTI will not be able to replace all of these pastors within this timeframe.

Too Many Positions for Too Few Leaders

The Advent Christian denomination has a declining number of churches and pastors, affecting the availability of both clergy and laypersons to fill denominational positions. Unless some radical change occurs, this problem will likely be compounded as the pool of laypersons who are denominationally concerned decreases.

As things currently stand, three out of every five Advent Christian churches must provide a leader to fill a basic denominational position (ACGC/Region/Conference). If we include all of the other ACGC committees and boards that number rises to four out of every five churches.

As it is, boards are undermanned and leaders overtaxed as they double up in taking on roles. In my time as ACGC Recording Secretary, I have been asked to serve elsewhere in addition to my current role. Will pastors and lay leaders be asked to triple or even quadruple their service as we continue to lose churches and pastors every year?

Under these conditions, it would be no surprise to see more pastoral burnout and more churches close as the energies of these leaders are frittered away. Something must change if the denomination will survive.

Is This Normal?

It is has been widely reported that most denominations are suffering numerically and some may be apt to think that these sorts of burdensome ratios are unavoidable. However, if we look at denominations of similar congregational polity we find this is not the case. The Conservative Congregational Conferences of Churches reportedly has 298 congregations - not far different from the Advent Christian figure of 244. However, while Advent Christians have a three-tier structure (National/Regional/Conference) the CCCC has a two-tier structure featuring only a national and regional level. Exact figures are difficult to find, but looking at their national bylaws and taking their New England regional fellowship as a sample (probably a larger sample at that), it would appear they would require at most ~134 persons for their structure to fully function. Yet a smaller denomination like ourselves requires 162 persons to fully function.

Even more striking is a comparison with Converge, a Baptist denomination we have regularly consulted in our church planting efforts. Examining their bylaws, we find that they too only feature two-tiers. Between the national bylaws and this sample from their Midwest region, it would appear that they would only require ~150 persons for their basic structure to function. This is again less than what Advent Christians require and with much greater size - they have 1,346 churches!

I make this comparison to suggest that we can do better. We are bloated and are needlessly making buttons pop off. This is not the first time in Advent Christian history that significant measures of change have been pursued to ensure the future of the denomination. We will revisit that history next.

NEXT - A Short History of the Advent Christian Search for Structure

* Fully Functional - meaning every conference has all of its officers. As will be considered in due course, many of our conferences have a paltry number of churches and so conference boards are not fully manned. This likewise suggests that some restructuring is in order if current structures have expired their usefulness.