Craig Carlisle said the Alabama Baptist State Convention is “strong, healthy and unified.”

“There are positive things happening all across our convention,” he said.

But as Carlisle, who serves as ABSC president, delivered his presidential address to the convention’s annual meeting Nov. 12, he said that there is one “situation that is of great concern and must be addressed.”

That situation is the pastor shortage.

“Here in Alabama, we have 3,162 churches, and presently 501 of our churches do not have pastors. That represents 16% of our churches,” said Carlisle, who also serves as director of missions for Etowah Baptist Association.

Nearly 90 percent of pastorless churches are smaller congregations that need bivocational or part-time ministers, he said.

Preaching from Matthew 9:35–38, Carlisle offered some suggestions to turn the tide, starting with reaching the people who could be the next generation of pastors.

1. We must reconnect to our communities.

Jesus went, Carlisle said. He went to small towns and urban centers. He didn’t wait for people to come to Him.

“We must get out and learn who is living around our community. We must get out and find out what the people in our community need,” he said. “Don’t presume to know what they need and offer them what you think they need. Ask them.”

Carlisle said it’s time for churches to “surrender our allegiance to the way things used to be and prioritize the way things are now and go and tell our communities that Jesus saves.”

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This article was originally published at TheAlabamaBaptist.org.