Two years ago, Bruce Rabon, administrative bishop for the Church of God in Kentucky, conducted a study of ministers in the state and discovered that only one ordained bishop was under the age of 40. Bishop Rabon talked with the Division of Education about his strategy for increasing the number of younger ordained bishops in Kentucky. Part of his strategy was a strong promotion of Calling and Ministry Studies and the Ministerial Internship Program. He believed these two ministries would help increase the number of younger people in ministry, as well as increase the number of ordained bishops in the state.
Rabon set a goal of 50 new ordained bishops during the International General Assembly period of 2014- 2016. He worked with Larry Higginbotham, state CAMS coordinator, Mark Knight, assistant state CAMS coordinator, and Rick Shelby, state MIP coordinator in promoting both CAMS and MIP. These two ministries saw astounding increased enrollment, especially younger people participating, and the enrollment continues to grow. In addition, the average age of the Calling and Ministry Studies applicants went from 39 to 29 in one year.
When the last ordained bishop exam was administered for this International General Assembly period, Kentucky met its goal of 50 new ordained bishops. Of the 50, 29 were under 40. Twenty were in their 30s and nine were in their 20s.
Ministerial training through Calling and Ministry Studies and the Ministerial Internship Program contributed to the goals that Bishop Rabon had for Kentucky. His team of Larry Higginbotham, Mark Knight, and Rick Shelby industriously promoted these ministries and brought younger people into the ministry. Furthermore, Bishop Rabon and his team saw an outstanding increase in younger ministers becoming ordained bishops. What is more important, a number of these ministers are planting and relaunching churches throughout Kentucky.
(Submitted by Church of God Division of Education)