Challenges pastors call a major issue for their church
Percent of U.S. Protestant pastors citing each as a major issue, 2025 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Reaching a younger audience (51%). Lowest: Lack of leadership training and development (23%).
- Reaching a younger audience: 51%
- Declining or inconsistent outreach and evangelism: 50%
- Declining or inconsistent volunteering: 36%
Source: Barna Group, What's on the Minds of America's Pastors · Article published 2025-02-07.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: Reaching a younger audience (51%). Lowest: Lack of leadership training and development (23%). Reaching a younger audience: 51%. Declining or inconsistent outreach and evangelism: 50%. Declining or inconsistent volunteering: 36%.
Who published this data?
Barna Group, 2025. Source: Barna Group, What's on the Minds of America's Pastors (https://www.barna.com/research/whats-on-mind-americas-pastors/).
Where can I get the full data and a citation?
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About this data
Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research by organizations such as Lifeway Research, Barna Group, Springtide, the American Bible Society and PRRI. Every number is checked against the wording of the original source before it is published, and each statistic links back to the study it came from. Figures are reproduced from the publishers named above; see the source for full methodology.