What rural pastors consider a ministry success
Percent of rural Protestant pastors who say each is a ministry success, 2025 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Members showing care (98%). Lowest: Attendance growth (77%).
- Members showing care: 98%
- Broken relationships healed: 94%
- Members consistently present: 94%
Source: Lifeway Research, Rural Church Pastors Face Obstacles With Optimism · Phone survey of 1,003 Protestant pastors; 95% confidence, margin of error plus or minus 3.3%. Article published 2025-10-23.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: Members showing care (98%). Lowest: Attendance growth (77%). Members showing care: 98%. Broken relationships healed: 94%. Members consistently present: 94%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2025. Source: Lifeway Research, Rural Church Pastors Face Obstacles With Optimism (https://research.lifeway.com/2025/10/23/rural-church-pastors-face-obstacles-with-optimism/).
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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.