- 50% of pastors’ marriages will end in divorce
- 80% of seminary graduates will leave ministry in the first 5 years
- 70% of pastors are grossly underpaid (compared to the amount of work they do)
- 80% of pastors’ spouses believe their spouse is overworked
- 50% of pastors feel unable to meet the needs of the job
- 80% of pastors say they have insufficient time with their family
- 56% of pastors’ spouses have no close friends
- 80% of pastors’ kids seek professional help for depression
- 80% of pastors feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastors.
Here are some more stats:
- 50% of pastors are so discouraged they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.
- 85% of pastors said their greatest problem is they are sick and tired of dealing with problem people.
- 90% of pastors said the hardest thing about ministry is dealing with uncooperative people.
- 95% of pastors do not regularly pray with their spouses.
- 70% of pastors do not have a close friend, confidant or mentor.
- 66% of pastors and their families feel pressure to model the ideal family to their congregations and communities.
- 5 years - the average tenure of a pastor at a church.
- 1500 pastors leave ministry each month due to moral failure, burnout or contention in their churches.
- Pastors who work fewer than 50 hours a week are 35% more likely to be terminated.
Approximately 4,000 new churches begin each year while more than 7,000 churches close down each year.
