Excerpt: What Pastors Wish They’d Been Prepared For

When asked about their favorite part of the job, most pastors say they enjoy preaching and teaching (60%). But this aspect of ministry is just one of many responsibilities pastors carry when it comes to serving their church and community.

This article, an excerpt from Barna’s new Resilient Pastor series—part of the larger Resilient Pastor initiative and available exclusively on Barna Access Plus—offers new data on what pastors enjoy about their job as well as aspects of ministry they weren’t completely prepared for when entering their role. You can read the full article today on Barna Access Plus.

When asked what they liked about being a pastor, respondents overwhelmingly highlight preaching and teaching, with 60 percent saying this is their favorite part of the job (in a distant second place is discipling believers, with 8 percent).

Of course, through the pandemic, preaching and teaching began to look very different in many churches around the country. The early COVID era highlighted the need for pastors to think beyond preaching as the lodestone of their ministry and be intentional about what else their church provides to the local community.

Broadly speaking, recent years may have amplified many pastors’ insecurities about what they have to offer their communities. Comparing data from 2015 and 2020, Barna found that pastors across the nation were facing a shocking surge in perceived gaps in their own training.

In 2015, just 27 percent of pastors said they wished they’d been better prepared to handle conflict. In 2020, that number shot up to 40 percent.
In 2015, 20 percent of pastors said they wished they were better prepared to delegate and train others. In 2020, 41 percent said the same.
In 2015, 16 percent of pastors said they wished they were better prepared to navigate church politics. By 2020, 36 percent of pastors said the same.

Since 2020, there has been a steadying in some of these numbers, though they are still well above 2015 levels. Barna has also begun polling about some new possible stressors, such as technology integration or crisis management, which the pastorate seems only moderately prepared for.

These jumps in common stressors are thrown into even sharper relief when controlled for age. Younger pastors more often than their older colleagues wish they’d had better preparation to handle issues like conflict (47% of pastors under 45 vs. 37% of pastors 45+), crisis management (32% vs. 15%) and leadership demands (29% vs. 17%).

In short, the next generation of pastors says they feel unprepared for some of the biggest challenges facing the modern Church. Whether as a major contributor or a serious consequence, this sense of being unprepared is part of the growing epidemic of burnout.

Editor’s note: The data above, as well as past Barna data, highlight a drastic decrease in pastoral satisfaction and security. While the data is grim, the aim of this new series—which will include reporting on self-leadership, church leadership and culture leadership—is to offer support and solutions for churches and their leaders. It is our hope that the data and insights shared will serve as a call to action for church communities to rally around their leaders and offer them strength and support in the face of current challenges.

Excerpt: What Pastors Wish They’d Been Prepared For

Related Resources

38% of U.S. Pastors Have Thought About Quitting Full-Time Ministry in the Past Year

For Pastors Who Want to Quit, Self-Care & Soul-Care Slip

Excerpt: A Rapid Decline in Pastoral Security

How Rest & Sabbath Can Strengthen Pastoral Well-Being

The Pastoral Succession Crisis Is Only Getting More Complicated

New Data Shows Hopeful Increases in Pastors’ Confidence & Satisfaction

Communication Is Key in Periods of Pastoral Transition