The Twelve Biggest Challenges Pastors and Church Staff Face

In my latest non-scientific Twitter survey, I asked the following question of pastors and church staff: What is your biggest challenge in ministry? Here are the top twelve responses with representative quotes. I’ve taken the liberty to expand most of the quotes from their abbreviated form in Twitter.

  1. Apathy and internal focus.  “I have been in ministry for over twenty years, and I’ve never seen church members more apathetic and internally focused.”
  2. Staff issues. “I inherited staff from the previous pastor. It’s not a good match, but I don’t have the credibility to do anything about it.”
  3. Leading and keeping volunteers. “It’s a fulltime job itself.”
  4. General time constraints. “I end every week wondering why I got so little done.”
  5. Getting buy-in from members. “I spend half my time developing a consensus from members about decisions from the mundane to the critical.”
  6. Generational challenges. “It seems like the older generation is determined to nix any new ideas or excitement from the younger generation.”
  7. Finances. “You can sum up our challenge in four simple words: We need more money.”
  8. Holding on to traditions. “I wish our members would put as much effort into reaching people for Christ as they do holding on to their traditions.”
  9. Criticism. “Some leaders in the church have appointed themselves to be my weekly critics.”
  10. Leadership development. “We miss too many opportunities in ministry because we don’t have enough leaders ready.”
  11. Majoring on minors. “We spent an hour in our last business conference discussing the fonts in our bulletins.”
  12. Lack of true friends. “One of the toughest realities for me as pastor was the awareness that I have no true friends in the church.”

What is fascinating, if not discouraging, about this survey is that virtually all of the challenges noted by these pastors and staff were internal challenges. It appears that many of our churches in America are not effective conduits of the gospel because the members spend so much energy concerned about their own needs and preferences.

What do you think about this list? What would you add?

Posted on June 26, 2013


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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100 Comments

  • Chris Russell says on

    I have only been a senior pastor for 5 months and fortunately I have not run into many of these issues, I am sure that at some point I will. But looking through some of them I can’t help but wonder at how Christ would handle such an internally focused and generally selfish church? But then again he did have the religious community of His day and decided his time was better spent with the poor, the broken, the sick, and generally the sinful outcast of society. I wonder how many churches would be looking for new pastors if we did what Jesus did.

    I may be way off but these are just some thoughts.

    • Susan h. says on

      🙂 I guess it depends on the church…. I recall an old movie mostly about racial relations but the pastor of the church eventually became tired of doing things because the town matron with power wanted them done and he stood up for what he knew was right… It was a fight but he gained not only respect but also a more devoted following.

  • Sounds like a lot of pastors are trying to run a church. A spirit filled pastor who listens to God and obeys his lead will allow the. Lord to handle the church, after all it is his. Totally surrender yourself to God in all things and he will bring victory.

    • Susan h. says on

      Perhaps they need further leadership training and mentoring

    • Don Phillips says on

      Kathy, you get the brass ring. We pastors can never put out all the little fires. Listening to God and obeying His written Word along with following Holy Spirit leadership is primary. This is key to SPIRITUAL leadership. You’re also right about the church being His. Let him deal with the problem children as He sees fit. If I allow my focus to be on them my focus cannot be on a vibrant, dependent walk with my Saviour.

      This may sound a bit “theoretical” to some. It’s not. I’m pastoring my third church and I’ve been here seven+ years. It has been a hard learned lesson. But hopefully I’ve learned it well. GOD MUST BE THE ONE I SEEK TO PLEASE ABOVE ALL OTHERS! I’ll let Him deal with the unruly. I’ll let Him defend me. I’ll let Him choose whether or not I get voted out. I’ll let Him choose where I’m supposed to be. I’ll let Him choose whether I’m to have little or much. But GOD MUST BE THE ONE I SEEK TO PLEASE ABOVE ALL OTHERS!

      Oh I have the “junk” to deal with too. But I refuse to let “junk dealers” get between me and the Lord of all creation.

      • Br. Moses (Uganda) says on

        Hi pastor Phillips, please help me, I loved my pastor and felt peace and axious always to be at church since late 2010 when i joined this church due to shifting to my own proparty .He odained me as an elder and my wife as 3rd pastor to him. But whith time i have and am experiencing the following:
        1) disagreements in some issues while in church meetings
        2) disagreeing in some biblical interpretations and applications he brings during private charts with him.
        3)over reacting on pulpit in services over issues that should be privately handled.
        4)And publicly pronouncing threats during service that cause fear indirectly focusing on those that may have not bought his i dear in a given day or time.
        In December last year i felt a strong conviction to leave this church, I sat-down my wife late evening and told told her, because i sensed trouble a head i wouldnt like to get me there .
        I feared to leave with haste but prayed a bout it , supprisingly things began to unfold to the worst that made me withdrawn, loose peace , sick and heaviness on my chest, loose joy in church and at his sermons.
        I have lost trust in him and find it difficult to fit in the ministry a gain because i feel out of place for words. I feel peace while a way or in another church and in my assessment i feel that leaving the this church is best option for both of us and for peace and continuity of our relationship.
        Am not writing to condemn him but find Godly council and direction form a person who is a fellow servant like him. I chose you after reading your comments on the challenges in ministry.

        Your quick response will be appreciated.

        Thank you .

    • Ronnie Johnson says on

      I totally agree with this comment. We stress ourselves over these things when we truly should seek God for counsel on them. We would be a lot less stressed if we did so.

    • It’s easy to say these things when you’re typing at a computer. The reality is that if you read Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, he dealt with these same heart breaking issues. Yes, God is in control and we all know this, however heartbreak and heaviness are still there. You see these things all through the Psalms with David and others. As God can be grieved so can his children. They did what they should do, cry out to God. But notice with David, there was still tears.
      Leaning on God through some of these rough times is everything. As many of the writers did in crying out to God for help we can too as Pastor’s.
      When a new Pastor comes into a church and is greeted with resistance, it’s hard. But with God you put a smile on your face and fight through it. To be affected by this is not a lack of “leadership training” it’s a battle. I would be more concerned if a Pastor didn’t care that his congregation is behaving in this manner.
      What do we do as Pastor’s? Lean on God, Lean on God lean on God. Cry out to him; because it can heartbreaking. But God is by your side and for a reason that maybe you can’t see; for your growth or whatever, there is a reason.

  • Heartspeak says on

    As I pondered this list, my heart grew heavier and heavier. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen such compilations of challenges and woes within churches. Sometimes I think that most of them are self-inflicted, not by the leaders so much as by our current ‘system’. It creates its own monster. The need to feed and nurture the infrastructure, the consequent fear of alienating the dollar sources, prevents us from speaking loving truth to those who are out of line, and make no mistake this is a root issue in many of the challenges listed above.

    That it falls so heavily on one man is, frankly in my opinion, quite wrong and not as God ever intended it. The people have been trained to see it this way and the leaders tend to let that perspective remain. The alternative is to stop trying so hard to ‘hold it together’. If God is, as we teach and speak it, sovreign and in control, then I am quite confident He will protect and lead His people even if the local church building were to close its doors. I doubt that will happen in many cases. It does have consquences for jobs however. But even here, perhaps God has His own way of providing that just cannot be seen from ‘inside’.

    Something has to give at some point. Unfortunately, that something gives every day of the year as pastors leave the ministry and churches close their doors. We see the warning signs and the wreckage, but are we asking the right questions anymore?

  • Laura Bramlett says on

    I’m a pastor’s wife, and I agree with all of these! I’m reminded all of the time that the enemy doesn’t need to use non-Christians…he has Christians so distracted by petty and selfish things! What a different country we’d have if we were truly focused on what matters (spreading the GOSPEL)!

  • As a church plant we do not face many of the same challenges, however many we can relate. Staff issues, volunteer issues, summer attendance, $$ is always an issue. With that said I would say our biggest challenge is communication. With some full time staff, some part time and some volunteer staff, its a major struggle to communicate and to stay on the same page.

  • Greg Corbin says on

    Great post. Certainly in 20+ years of ministry I have experienced all of them. Your observation that virtually all of these challenges are internal is “spot on” and gets to the root issue. Pastors spend so much time dealing with internal issues that there is little time and even less spiritual and emotional energy left to really think externally about reaching people in the community. These internal issues drain the soul and never stop – no matter what size church you serve. I think it’s important to point out that the internal issues exist in all churches – regardless of size, age of the church, community context, etc. The pastors who lead churches to truly reach out into their communities find a way to rise above the internal issues, cast a vision, and lead out in this direction even though they deal with internal issues all the time. Somehow they keep relentless focus on reaching people and know that they will never have all of the internal issues resolved. They live with them, deal with them as they can, but they never allow them to drain the life out of their leadership.

  • Non-leaders taking leadership roles because they volunteer or the nomination committee does not take the time to examine the spiritual maturity of each individual and set boundaries and requirements for leadership.

    10 people working constantly, while 100 sit and suck their thumbs and then complain about nothing happening in the church.

    These get me the most…

    • Thom Rainer says on

      Yes to both of those.

    • There is always something for volunteers to do, however not every person is suited to any/every endeavor. You must however be able to successfully integrate individuals who Are desirous and willing to help regardless of their ability. If you have a committee in place to assign leadership roles then you have cooperative participation, perhaps the problem is the leadership committee… Are they biased towards individuals whom they desire vs those who might be adequate and eligible? Why would you have people not suited in positions of power and a WHOLE lot of people not even wishing to participate?
      Committees still need the leadership of the Pastor.

  • The balance of power in the church is so delicate, one little thing can have huge implications. Every day as a pastor I face the reality of that one phone call, one e-mail, or one envelope in my church mailbox which contains the equivelent of dropping a bomb on me.

  • Communication: Both internally and communicating our message outside the Church walls…

    • Thom Rainer says on

      Agreed Leanne. I’m surprised I did not hear that more.

      • Perhaps pastors who struggle with communication did not respond because they struggle with communication! Any previous links/posts/articles on the detriment of poor communication, especially as it involves social media, Dr. Rainer?

  • Allen Calkins says on

    That list is a good one! I can identify with every single one of them in churches where I have served. I believe the insight that they are all internal problems that have nothing to do with the outside world is a good one, but not totally true. I believe the reason these are THE ISSUES for so many pastors is because of 1) Worldly influences on members 2) A lack of spiritual maturity among the membership. 3) Some key church leaders actually being unregenerate and not interested in advancing the Kingdom of God. 4) Loyalty to church being more valued and rewarded than faithfulness to God. 5) Unforgiving hearts among pastors who seem surprised that they are opposed and persecuted to some extent even though Jesus promised it and Paul modeled it.
    In my mind THE FACT that THESE are our main issues reveals more significant and serious underlying spiritual problems also exist…

  • Wearing hats that are not part of my natural gift mix…

    • Thom Rainer says on

      Yep –

      Pastors must wear many hats.

    • 🙂 I like this comment and that is why I probably left it be when I first saw this blog. I am interested in how you guys work it out…. Perhaps Thom this could be a subject of inspiration for another blog . The many responsibilities of being a pastor…How many hats must one own to accomplish the job and where to find them.

      • @Susan ~ The number of hats is probably determined by the size of the church and the gift mix of the people in it. As for “finding” the hats I need to wear, I try to read a lot – journals, blogs, books – anything I can to help me wear hats better 🙂

    • Totally agree with this line-up. No wonder the gospel is suffering so much.

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