Pressures pastors report in ministry
Percent of U.S. pastors agreeing with each statement, 2019 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Say they are on call 24 hours a day (84%). Lowest: Say their church has unrealistic expectations of them (21%).
- Say they are on call 24 hours a day: 84%
- Expect conflict in their church: 80%
- Find the role of pastor frequently overwhelming: 54%
Source: Lifeway Research, Pastors Are Not Quitting In Droves · Article published 2019-07-10.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: Say they are on call 24 hours a day (84%). Lowest: Say their church has unrealistic expectations of them (21%). Say they are on call 24 hours a day: 84%. Expect conflict in their church: 80%. Find the role of pastor frequently overwhelming: 54%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2019. Source: Lifeway Research, Pastors Are Not Quitting In Droves (https://research.lifeway.com/2019/07/10/pastors-are-not-quitting-in-droves-2/).
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- Drop in pastors considering quitting since the 2022 peak Leader Insights, 2026
- Americans rating clergy honesty and ethics as high Lifeway Research, 2020
- Americans who see a pastor as a trustworthy source of wisdom Barna Group, 2020
- Areas pastors wish they had been better prepared for Barna Group, 2020
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.