Reasons pastors left the pastorate, as reported by current pastors
Percent of departures attributed to each reason, 2015 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Change in calling (37%). Lowest: Lack of preparation for the job (3%).
- Change in calling: 37%
- Conflict in the church: 26%
- Family issues: 17%
Source: Lifeway Research, Despite Stresses, Few Pastors Give Up on Ministry · Lifeway Research survey of 1,500 pastors of evangelical and historically black churches. Article published 2015-09-01.
See all 9 categories, the full chart and more
Free account: full chart, CSV and PNG downloads, ready-to-paste citation, branded share image, and a discussion question for your team.
Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: Change in calling (37%). Lowest: Lack of preparation for the job (3%). Change in calling: 37%. Conflict in the church: 26%. Family issues: 17%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2015. Source: Lifeway Research, Despite Stresses, Few Pastors Give Up on Ministry (https://research.lifeway.com/2015/09/01/despite-stresses-few-pastors-give-up-on-ministry/).
Where can I get the full data and a citation?
Create a free Leader Insights account to open the full chart, download CSV or PNG, copy a citation and save the statistic to your own library.
More Pastors & Staff statistics
- Black Protestant clergy who support women's leadership in the Black church Public Religion Research Institute, 2026
- Decline in churches insuring their senior pastor Leader Insights, 2026
- Drop in pastors considering quitting since the 2022 peak Leader Insights, 2026
- Current pastors compared with former pastors on ministry pressures Lifeway Research, 2016
- Pastors who say they are on call 24 hours a day Lifeway Research, 2016
- Churches with a full-time pastor Lifeway Research, 2015
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.