Pastors who seriously considered leaving full-time ministry
Percent of U.S. Protestant senior pastors, past year (in percent)
Key finding
Down from the 42% peak in March 2022, but still one in four.
- Latest reading (Jan 2026): 24%
- Earliest reading (Jan 2021): 29%
Source: Barna Group, Pastors Considering Quitting Ministry · Jan 2021 n=413; Mar 2022 n=510; Oct 2021 from Barna's pastor well-being study. Latest published Jan 27, 2026.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Down from the 42% peak in March 2022, but still one in four. Latest reading (Jan 2026): 24%. Earliest reading (Jan 2021): 29%.
Who published this data?
Barna Group, 2025. Source: Barna Group, Pastors Considering Quitting Ministry (https://www.barna.com/trends/pastors-quitting-ministry-barna-data/).
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More Pastors & Staff statistics
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- Decline in churches insuring their senior pastor Leader Insights, 2026
- Drop in pastors considering quitting since the 2022 peak Leader Insights, 2026
- Evangelical pastors with some income outside of church work Lifeway Research, 2026
- Meaningful friendships among rural pastors Lifeway Research, 2026
- Other full-time ministers' pay after inflation Leader Insights, 2026
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.