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What's Happening in Ministry Families Today?
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According to Life-Line for Pastors, pastors today are faced with more work,
more problems, and more stress than in other time in the history of the church.
This is taking a frightening toll on their ministries and families, as shown by the
statistics below*:
--> Each month 1500 pastors leave the ministry due to moral failure, spiritual burnout
or contention in their churches.
--> 80% of pastors and 84% of their wives feel unqualified and discouraged in
their roles.
--> 50% of pastors would leave the ministry if they had another way of making a living.
--> 80% of seminary and Bible school graduates will leave the ministry within the first
five years.
--> 80% of pastor's spouses feel left out and unappreciated by the church members.
--> 80% of pastors' wives wish their spouse would choose another profession.
--> 80% of pastors' wives feel pressured to do things and be something in the church
that they really are not.
--> The majority of pastors' wives surveyed said that the most destructive event that
has occurred in their marriage and family was the day they entered the ministry.
--> Almost 40% of all pastors polled said they have had an extra-marital affair.
--> 70% of pastors constantly fight depression.
--> 80% of adult children of pastors said they have had to seek professional help for
depression.
--> Of 900 Southern Baptist pastors surveyed in 2000, 45% of the pastors who lost
their job did not return to the pastorate.**
* Many of the above statistics came from across denominational lines, and have been
gleaned from various reliable sources such as Pastor to Pastor, Focus on the Family,
Ministries Today, Charisma Magazine, TNT Ministries, Campus Crusade for Christ,
and the Global Pastors Network.
** From an article by Brett Hoffman in the August 11, 2002 issue of
Star Telegram in Ft. Worth, TX
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