How we can radically boost recruitment of working class clergy

Our communities are awash with talent - but Churches need to offer new routes to ministry.

Father Alex Frost calls for bold thinking from national leaders.

I have never received a standing ovation before and nor did I expect one at my recent trip to London for the Church of England General Synod.

But that is what happened after my February address to the gathering of Archbishops, Bishops, Clergy and Laity on the subject of working class vocations and people training for ministry.

I’d like to think it wasn’t just light relief because I was wedged in between the difficult debate about safeguarding on one side, and the ultra dry debate about church processes on the other. But maybe that I struck a chord about how and who we recruit for lay and ordained ministry.

Communities are awash with talent

The crux of my address and Private Members Motion was to challenge the Church of England and all Churches in the UK that perhaps a ‘one size fits all’ approach to learning is not always in the interest of the church or the individual selected to train for ministry.

My key argument came from a place of experience and the fact I left school at 15 years old and had no qualifications. Although I went on to have fabulous career in retail management with Argos, the fact that my academic portfolio was as empty as some of our struggling churches became a huge stumbling block to my pathway to ordination.

And so at Synod I presented my call for a radical change to how churches go about things, and argued that there was a rich harvest of talent and skills from people in our working class communities that – as yet – had been seriously under represented.

I asked them to do more to recognise the skills and potential of Christians in an urban setting. After all, these places are awash with entrepreneurs and down-to-earth hard-working people.

I'd love to see clergy apprenticeships

But why do our churches need a working-class cleric or pastor? Is this just another attempt to increase our diversity levels, looking a little more favourable with the secular world?

Well that could be a fair critique, but I do truly believe that more working class ministers would be a much needed injection of talent and enthusiasm that offers something different to the academic degree model that exists in many church institutions of all denominations.

And just in case anyone was thinking, “hang on a minute I’m working class and I’ve got a degree, what on earth is Fr Alex going on about?” I’d just like to add that of course many working class people are academic and they do have degrees, and that is wonderful.

Ultimately I would love to see all churches offer a number of work-streams for ministerial training. Of course keeping the academic pathway for classroom based learning, but also opening up the opportunities and possibilities of an apprenticeship type model. Offering context-based learning, hands on endeavour, where the experience from the ‘real world’ is soaked up and nurtured to create culturally aware people fit for church ministry.

An encouragement to all working class Christians

When I stood at the platform I was unsure how this idea would be received, as after all The Church of England isn’t particularly regarded as a instrument of change. Anything but, if the truth be-known. However you can imagine my delight when people stood to their feet in approval and passed my motion with 100% support.

The proof now will be in the pudding and I eagerly look forward to discovering what the ministry division comes up with. But in the meantime I do sincerely hope that if nothing else it has encouraged working class Christians who doubt their ability to serve their church, to confidently remind them that, YES YOU CAN!!

Father Alex Frost is Vicar of St Matthew Church in Burnley; is a member of General Synod; host of The God Cast; and author of Our Daily Bread: from Argos to the Altar.

Church On The Margins work

Since 2020, Church Action on Poverty has been researching how the UK’s denominations allocate their resources, and listening to people and churches in communities on the margins.

Churches, at their best, are thriving hubs at the heart of their communities – open and inclusive to all believers and everyone else. Churches at their best connect with and support the local area through local collaborations, shared spaces and resources, and genuine community.

But we found that low-income communities are being disproportionately affected by church closures, and this has ramifications for Christians and entire neighbourhoods. If national church leaders reinvest instead of retreating, then we know churches can help whole communities to thrive and build better futures.

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