Pastoral Stats, Keepin' it Real...

38% of pastors are thinking of quitting the ministry.

72% of the pastors report working between 55 and 75 hours per week.

84% of pastors feel they are on call 24/7.

80% believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families. Many pastor's children do not attend church now because of what the church has done to their parents.

65% of pastors feel their family lives in a "glass house" and fear they are not good enough to meet expectations.

23% of pastors report being distant to their family.

78% of pastors report having their vacation and personal time interrupted with ministry duties or expectations.

65% of pastors feel they have not taken enough vacation time with their family over the last 5 years.

28% of pastors report having feelings of guilt for taking personal time off and not telling the church.

35% of pastors report the demands of the church denies them from spending time with their family.

24% of pastor's families resent the church and its effect on their family.

22% of pastor's spouses reports the ministry places undue expectations on their family.

66% of church members expect a minister and family to live at a higher moral standard than themselves.

53% of pastors report that the seminary did not prepare them for the ministry.

90% of pastors report the ministry was completely different from what they thought it would be like before they entered the ministry.

45% of pastors spend 10–15 hours a week on sermon preparation.

85% of pastors report the use of the internet and other resources have improved their study time compared to when they first started their ministry.

50% of pastors state they spend 1 hour in prayer each day.

95% of pastors report not praying daily or regularly with their spouse.

57% of pastors believe they do not receive a livable wage.

57% of pastors being unable to pay their bills.

53% of pastors are concerned about their future family financial security.

75% of pastors report significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry.

80% of pastors and 84% of their spouses have felt unqualified and discouraged as role of pastors at least one or more times in their ministry.

52% of pastors feel overworked and cannot meet their church's unrealistic expectations.

54% of pastors find the role of a pastor overwhelming.

40% report serious conflict with a parishioner at least once in the last year.

80% of pastors expect conflict within their church.

75% of pastors report spending 4–5 hours a week in needless meetings.

35% of pastors battle depression or fear of inadequacy.

26% of pastors report being over fatigued.

Over 50% of pastors state the biggest challenge is to recruit volunteers and encourage their members to change (living closer to God's Word).

70% of pastors do not have someone they consider to be a close friend.

57% of pastors feel fulfilled but yet discouraged, stressed, and fatigued.

84% of pastors desire to have close fellowship with someone they can trust and confide with.

Over 50% of pastors are unhealthy, overweight, and do not exercise.

The profession of “Pastor” is near the bottom of a survey of the most-respected professions, just above “car salesman”.

Here's the keepin' it real QUESTION:
Are YOU the type of church member that contributes to the above statistics?

If you are: REPENT!

If you're not: PRAISE GOD!