The Church of Scotland has recruited its largest number of trainee ministers in five years.
Kirk officials welcomed the surge in recruits as it anticipates hundreds of its parish ministers will reach retirement age in the next decade.
So far, 27 new candidates have been accepted for training this year.
However, further applicants due for assessment next month could see numbers soar to the largest intake for ten years.
It comes as the church builds on its Tomorrow’s Calling campaign to promote parish ministry, with a new recruitment website, and advent calendar, which goes live tomorrow, with 24 video messages created by ministers.
Rev Neil Glover, convener of the church’s Ministries Council, said: “We’re no different to other professions facing up to retirement challenges, like GPs and teaching.
“The church has been slow to get to grips with the scale of the problem but now it is a top priority.
“We currently have just over 800 ministers, and more than 400 of them are aged 55 or over.
“Ministers tend to work a bit beyond the normal pension age, but we now need to recruit 30 new trainees every year.”
Since the Tomorrow’s Calling campaign was launched at May’s General Assembly, a series of promotional films about parish ministry have been viewed over 100,000 times on social media.
This led to the idea of the online Advent calendar and more than 2,000 people have already signed up to receive the daily videos.
More than 50,000 have watched the promotional video on the Church’s website and Facebook page.
Rev Glover added: “Tomorrow’s Calling has certainly generated lots of interest.”
“Everyone experiences their calling to ministry differently and many put it off for one reason or another.
“What we are saying now is come and talk to us, find out if ministry is right for you.
“It’s an immensely rewarding role, which has its challenges but also changes lives and makes a real difference in communities across Scotland and beyond.”
Andrew Kimmitt, 25, who is studying for the ministry at the University of Aberdeen, said : “I am not sure I every thought I would do anything else.
“It is about spreading the message of the Christian faith but it is also about people and caring for people.”