How senior pastor transitions began
Percent of practicing Christians who experienced a senior pastor transition in the last five years, 2019 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Initiated by the outgoing pastor (62%). Lowest: Forced by sickness, death or crisis (13%).
- Initiated by the outgoing pastor: 62%
- Planned by congregation and outgoing pastor: 17%
- Forced by sickness, death or crisis: 13%
Source: Lifeway Research, How Can Churches Successfully Navigate Leadership Transitions? · Barna data on practicing Christians who experienced a senior pastor transition within the last five years. Article published 2019-09-13.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: Initiated by the outgoing pastor (62%). Lowest: Forced by sickness, death or crisis (13%). Initiated by the outgoing pastor: 62%. Planned by congregation and outgoing pastor: 17%. Forced by sickness, death or crisis: 13%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2019. Source: Lifeway Research, How Can Churches Successfully Navigate Leadership Transitions? (https://research.lifeway.com/2019/09/13/how-can-churches-successfully-navigate-leadership-transitions/).
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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.