About one-third of you readers are laypersons. This article is for you. Of course, I know pastors and other vocational ministry leaders will be reading as well. Perhaps, more than my article, they will be reading your comments. They will be searching eagerly to see if anyone has a word of encouragement. They may be anticipating the responses will be a barrage of negativity they have become accustomed to receiving.
Please hear me clearly. The vast majority of pastors with whom our team communicates are saying they are considering quitting their churches. It’s a trend I have not seen in my lifetime. Some are just weeks away from making an announcement. They are looking for work in the secular world. Some will move to bivocational ministry. Some will move to marketplace ministry.
But many will move.
Why has this period of great discouragement ensued? Of course, it is connected to COVID-19, but the pandemic really just exacerbated trends already in place. We would have likely gotten to this point in the next three to five years regardless.
I also want you to know that these pastors do not think they will be leaving ministry. They just believe the current state of negativity and apathy in many local churches is not the most effective way they can be doing ministry.
So, they are leaving or getting ready to leave. There are many reasons why, but allow me to share the top six reasons, understanding that they are not mutually exclusive.
- Pastors are weary from the pandemic, just like everyone else. Pastors are not super humans. They miss their routines. They miss seeing people as they used to do so. They would like the world to return to normal, but they realize the old normal will not return.
- Pastors are greatly discouraged about the fighting taking place among church members about the post-quarantine church. Gather in person or wait? Masks or no masks? Social distancing or not? Too many church members have adopted the mindset of culture and made these issues political fights. Pastors deal daily with complaints about the decisions the church makes.
- Pastors are discouraged about losing members and attendance. For sure, it’s not all about the numbers. But imagine your own mindset if one-half or more of your friends stopped engaging with you. And pastors have already heard directly or indirectly from around one-fourth of the members that they do not plan to return at all.
- Pastors don’t know if their churches will be able to support ministries financially in the future. In the early stages of the pandemic, giving was largely healthy. Church members stepped up. Government infusion of funds for businesses and consumers helped as well. Now, the financial future is cloudy. Can the church continue to support the ministries they need to do? Will the church need to eliminate positions? These issues weigh heavily on pastors.
- Criticisms against pastors have increased significantly. One pastor recently shared with me the number of criticisms he receives are five times greater than the pre-pandemic era. Church members are worried. Church members are weary. And the most convenient target for their angst is their pastor.
- The workload for pastors has increased greatly. Almost every pastor with whom we communicate expresses surprise at their level of work since the pandemic began. It really makes sense. They are trying to serve the congregation the way they have in the past, but now they have the added responsibilities that have come with the digital world. And as expected, pastoral care needs among members have increased during the pandemic as well.
Pastors are burned out, beaten up, and downtrodden.
Many are about to quit.
You may be surprised to discover your pastor is among them.
Posted on August 31, 2020
With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.
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427 Comments
As a board member for about nine years, this is reasonable and makes sense. Pastors need care too. They get some of that from professional connections but the board needs to take care of the pastor as well. I am well aware that a board’s primary responsibility is to manage the church finances. The board needs to listen and work with the pastor. Also, there are times when the church and the pastor are both best served by parting ways. That is not a critique of pastors, it is reality.
As a pastor I have been discouraged but from a different perspective. I am pastoring a church that is coming back from near closure when I arrived 4 years ago. However…… Just prior to Covid we were seeing great things happen. Momentum was huge and things were going great. Covid pretty much wiped out the momentum and we’ve got nearly 40% of our precovid members who haven’t been back since March. Those who are coming during covid have been nervous about things going South again. I will not be quitting and haven’t even considered it but still experiencing basic discouragement of what could have been. Praying God brings a new age of church life for us that is rewarding and is worthy of our Lord.
My heart goes out to all those that are struggling. I pray that everyone that is extremely discouraged will be able to shut out the loud noises of those that are not supporting you and lining up with the word of God to show their love and their support. Please hang in there, because you have many in your congregation that love and support you. They need you! May God’s grace abound in your life and the joy and peace rest on each and every one!
1. Nobody said it would be easy.
2. Who says we cannot get back to OUR normal?
3. Those who do not intend to return probably should not have been there in the first place.
4. Everyone and every church will have to make adjustments.
5. See number 1.
6. The digital world is a ripe mission field. It does not have to replace our brick and mortar churches.
It can be a valuable supplement.
1 through 6 are not the pastors fault.
You cannot please all the people all the time.
Somewhere in the ruble of this political intendedemic are blessings. They may be hard to
see and find but they are there. Find them and then what do you do with them? You use them.
Everyone is tired. Most institutions in this country have been attacked including sports and the
pros have done their bit to make it worse. All me me me me from them. Not a hero to be found.
Pastors are leaders. If their in over their head they need to make tough decisions about go or stay.
Like parishioners some may go. The real problem we are ALL facing is a lack of TRUTH everywhere
except the Bible. It has not faltered. But everyone else and every source of “News” are liars. We all
want to see someone do what they promised to do and are paid to do. This is MY CHRISTIAN COUNTRY.
Criminals have taken over our “government”. What should we do? Give up? Cry Uncle? Walk away?
Will that fix anything. Has it ever? In light of our world today I believe God’s messages and callings are clear.
We need you now more than ever. When you decide to stay and fight. Decide to win.
God Bless you all regardless of your choices. You have served. Today’s choice does not have to be the end game.
Focus and maximize on the eternal rewards and minimize the temporary
If I might say, I am a lead pastor’s wife, we have observed one more major area of concern for us.
People are consumers! They have been growing as consumers and since quarantine and isolation they have been unfaithful to the commitment of their church. An all out affair with other preachers, churches or worship bands. No, or little loyalty exists. Church leaders and members are all the same. They are chasing their own preferences and don’t have a clue what their pastor is saying or preaching. Staying together as a “body” seems to be the furthest thing from their minds. How could they leave so easily? I would have said we were deeply loved but, the facts say otherwise. How can we be the body of Christ when we don’t care a lick about each other.
My husband says, “this is all good and dandy until they are sick and want a pastor to visit or die and need a pastor to bury them, then what? The internet sensation pastor won’t be there for them and no church people will care for them.”
We are in crisis for sure.
My thoughts are
We have our Kingdom from the other world stop looking at the situation who we think is bigger then us
God is our shepherd he will continue to be he is the I AM I will be what ever situations we called on the part of the being the I AM we need
We must remember the shepherd looks for food for the sheep’s while they are a sleep
Remember David and the battle field depends totally on God not on his strength
Remember what ever God call fir He provide for
This trend could lead to killing off smaller local churches in favor of large regional “hub” churches. Considering the easy mobility of most people now, maybe not a bad thing. But then, where would all those seminary graduates go? Uggh! Don’t get me started on “the church machine!”
I suspect most local churches will instead change into something that looks much more simple. Pastors and leaders will (finally) throw up their hands and admit that they can’t match the attractive production value of the regional hub church. So they will either dwindle and close up, or they will adapt and become something that looks different. Just my opinion.
Different, how? Imagine if a church were actually known for its dynamic preaching and rock solid scriptural teaching… and you went there on Tuesday nights to actually get taught, but it didn’t offer activities, youth stuff, choir stuff, worship stuff…. Just teaching. Would you go? Maybe not, but if you knew you could plug-in with a youth group or adult group at another location, and maybe get a concert level worship experience two times a month at yet another cooperating venue, would that attract you?
You might think it would be MORE expensive doing things that way, but actually, you could have fewer locations, fewer buildings and you could know without a doubt exactly what your giving by is supporting.
Could a church that is not trying to be a mega center slim down their expenses to support only what they can do with excellence? I think so.
But then, would people attend? Maybe not…. Maybe they’d support the activity centers and the worship centers, but the preaching and teaching centers would be poorly attended? Hmmm….
You are SPOT ON, Sir! I have ministered to as many as 7 churches since 2008. We now have 5 due to the closing of 2 of those churches. They simply ran out of people and money. I have only this past week, submitted my letter of request of retirement. Your last comment about being burned out, down trodden and beat up is exactly why I have had enough. I’m paid to be a half time Pastor but am expected to fulfill the stucture of a full timer. I replaced a full time Pastor because the parish felt that they simply could not afford to keep him. I agreed to step in with the idea that we would move forward later with a better salary arrangement. It never happened. I am 73 years old and feel that it’s time for me to find a more relaxing life style. Thank you for allowing me this space. God Bless!!
I agree with this article. However there is a flip side of this coin. There are great pastors that work themselves to death to a thankless congregation. Others that are lazy and do as little as possible. There are Churches where it’s not about Jesus. It’s all political. We are living in the Luke warm laodecian age. God forgive us as we repent for neglecting you!
I can understand the feeling of discouragement. When you try to set up virtual services and Zoom looks for every way to squeeze more money out of the church and provides no support, it is frustrating. When you return to the church and two people show up, you wonder why you’re even trying. We can only hope that the end of summer will start bringIng people back from their cottages and into church again. All this is not limited to churches, though, when you see how many businesses are closing permanently, including big chains, it is apparent that the pandemic was taken a toll much greater than the illness itself. We must remain strong, and soldier on. Things will have to turn around eventually and we need to be there when they do.
Thanks for this truth! God has pressed on my mind to only speak words of encouragement to the pastoral staff at my church. We need to be doing this year round and not waiting for October to have pastor appreciation month.