When Is It Time for a Pastor to Leave a Church? Seven Scenarios

I am reticent to write this article. I do not want to encourage pastors to leave churches too early. Frankly, many pastors have shared with me that, in the aftermath of their departures, they realized they had made a mistake. They left too soon.

Many times the departure takes place between years two to four of a pastor’s tenure. That is the typical period when the “honeymoon” is over and some level of conflict, even crises, have begun. Many pastors who made it to years five and beyond express thanksgiving that they did not depart in those more difficult early years.

I confess that I left a church too soon. My family’s income was below the poverty line, and I was too proud to express my financial needs to any trusted church leader. The church’s income had tripled in my three-year tenure, so I could have easily been paid more. And I have little doubt that some of the leaders in the church would have gladly helped. My stupid and sinful pride got in the way.

So I have asked over thirty pastors why they left their previous church. Obviously, my survey is both informal and small. Still, the responses were both fascinating and telling. Here are the top seven responses in order of frequency, and they are not always mutually exclusive.

  1. “I had a strong sense of call to another church.” This response was articulated in a number of different ways, but the essence was the same. Slightly over half of the respondents left because of the “pull” rather than the “push.”
  2. “I became weary and distracted with all the conflict and criticisms.” What leader has not been here? What pastor has not been here? It is often a death by a thousand cuts.
  3. “I no longer felt like I was a good match for the church.” One pastor shared candidly that he felt like the church outgrew him. He said he had the skill set to serve a church with an attendance of 150. But when it grew to 500 after eight years, he felt that his leadership skills were not adequate to take the church any further.
  4. “I left because of family needs.” One pastor moved closer to his aging parents who had no one to care for them. Another indicated his family was miserable in their former church location.
  5. “I was fired or forced out.” This story is far too common. Of course, some of the other factors in this list overlap with this one.
  6. “I was called to a different type of ministry.” Some left to take a position other than lead pastor in another church. Others went into parachurch or denominational ministry. I am among those who left the pastorate for denominational work.
  7. “I was not paid adequately.” I related my own story above. Let me be clear. The pastors with whom I spoke were not seeking extravagant pay, just adequate pay. And like me, most of them were uncomfortable broaching the issue with any leaders in the church.

What do you think of these seven factors? What would you add? What have been your experiences?

Posted on July 14, 2014


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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131 Comments

  • James Horsley says on

    I’m not a pastor but I have known several and I’m friends with several. From the list of seven I see only two that would warrant a pastor leaving a church “he has been called to serve”. The rest are personal reasons and have nothing to do with God’s calling on his life. Personal reasons bring two things into question. First, what or who called him to serve that church? Was it the money, the congregation or did he feel God’s calling on his life to serve His church in that location? Second question is just like the first but in this manner. Who or what called him into the ministry? If it was God then the only reason a person should ever leave is because God lead him in another direction. I understand each circumstance is different, but God never changes. To leave for personal reasons is to basically say “God I have to fix this and don’t trust you to provide. I know best”

    • James, am I understanding you correctly that there are only two reasons to leave a church? And other reasons are wrong (sinful?). Is that what you are saying? Thanks for the clarification.

      • Not at all. What I’m saying is that to leave for any other reason then that of God’s calling on your life elsewhere, is to say your trust in God to provide and correct in a situation is lacking. If you are called to serve a people God has put you in their lives for a reason. Find that reason and don’t just turn your back on those people because of personal reasons. Not sinful at all, just not trusting.

    • Cody Hale says on

      What about the ordinary means of providence? Doesn’t God primarily heal people through doctors and medicine, though He may certainly do so divinely? Could God not use healthy, personal reasons to prompt you toward a new season of ministry? I would say that this is how He normally works. Often, a pastor will sense a dissatisfaction with some area of his ministry or personal life before being called to a new place of service. God uses that dissatisfaction to open his eyes and mind to a new season. This is why Dr. Rainer often speaks of both a push and a pull in seeking God’s direction for your ministry.

  • I am not the senior pastor but I am thinking it may be time to go. I have been serving as youth/college pastor and secretary for 10 years. Our pastor of 17 years retired due to health concerns in September and passed away in December. He felt strongly that I was to succeed him. I had a member come to me last week and say that the reason our church is struggling is that “[I] am what’s left of the former pastor’s mistakes.” So I am supposed to sit down and be quiet, pray for a new pastor, and if there is enough money left I can stay.

  • Aubert Rose says on

    Remember while working with Dr. Stanley in Atlanta in the ’70’s that Dr. Criswell would tell him it takes 7 years to become Pastor after you are called. Interesting!

  • Chuck Lawless says on

    I left my second pastorate in order to pursue education. At the time, seminaries generally expected students to move to a campus to complete their work. That’s not the case anymore, though — many institutions offer non-residential graduate studies, including PhD work.

  • I feel for you Jeremy. I too have a similar situation. I came here to my current church to serve part-time as I completed my studies. Through a long course of events I become the senior pastor. I’ve been serving in that role for over 7 years now. I’ve tried to leave several times but God has decided otherwise.

    I would add to the list the “loneliness” factor. If you are a younger pastor, serving in a smaller congregation made up of older members, it is challenging to find meaningful friendships. Being far away from family and the support they bring is especially challenging when the ministry poses its challenges.

    I so often question whether I should even pastor. I question whether I’m gifted…or thick skinned…or patient enough to fill the pastor’s role. I feel another church would provide me a better handle to assess my fit in the local church.

    Jeff

  • I planted a new church in a small town. After a long period of feeling like I’m carrying around 1000 extra pounds, I’ve come to the conclusion that this ministry is unsustainable. Outside funding is ending and we can’t make even 50% of our budget after more than 4 years. The reality is that it just can’t survive. BUT, the sponsoring body says they don’t want it closed. No solutions, no help, just don’t close it. This only compounds the stress. If I walk away I look like a jerk, but I don’t know how much longer I can stand.

  • Fresh out of undergrad, I took a Sr. Minister position at a small church in a rural town. As a born and raised city boy I never really fit in. After 4 years, there was no one in the church or the community that my wife and I considered close friends, despite our best efforts to build relationships. Additionally, it became very apparent that the members were not going to move forward, try new things, invite anyone to church, or change anything whatsoever. So after 4 years of feeling very alone and trying to lead a church that had no interest in changing or fulfilling the great commission, I left with no regrets and no one that seemed to care all that much.

    • S. Radford says on

      Been there. It’s rather awkward to leave like knowing that no one cared if you left. In my case I wondered if they even cared that I was called there to begin with. Be blessed man of God!

    • Anthony says on

      Jeremy, My family is in the same situation. Four years and no close friends. We have carried each deacon and his family out to dinner. Had multiple meetings, fellowships, get to gathers at out house. No one in the church we pastor-(I am the pastor but our whole family attend and take part in a small rural church) has ever invited us for supper or reciprocated. I was ready to leave in year two and talked with a director of missions. He was not surprised. We left out previous church after nearly 20 years of good ministry. We are trying one more push to make this church our home but it seems more like a foreign mission field in a hostile country.
      No outreach.
      No fellowship.
      Constant bickering family members.
      And they ask me why folks in the community don’t seem to like our church.

      So, we hang tough and follow God. And thankful, I am bivocational.

  • Clayton says on

    I left my first pastorate after four years because they couldn’t afford me and I couldn’t afford to live on their income ($13,500) plus parsonage total. However, seven years later I still feel a if I left too early and abandoned them.

    I left the second church due to the “Big frog in the little pond” syndrome. The chair deacon wanted me to plan, teach, and administrate his way, and to theologically align with his uneducated opinions. He passive aggressively undermined my ability every chance he got. The rest of the deacons agreed with me that he should be dealt with, but due to his business relationships with many church members they repeatedly backed down and commented “Oh that’s just ******, don’t worry about it.” It affected almost all of the relationships within that church. I have no regret leaving; that was a rough 3/4 years.
    I’m presently in my third year following a pastor who served here 38 years. It is still going well in spite of the first two years full of conflict. I see God’s hands in this. Pray for me.

  • In our 40yrs. of ministry my husband and I have been involved in 5 church plants and 3 restarts. We left when we felt that our ministry was completed. Except for one church, we always got to choose our replacement.

    I would add that when a pastor can no longer “lead” that he should leave. If the leadership and the people are against the new direction, he should move on rather than split the church.

  • Churches also change. Membership turnover over 5-10 years is significant, especially in the cities. The new members may have a problem relating to the pastor. It is not always the pastor’s fault. Also, some pastors are more fix-it than sustain it. That means that problems get fixed and the congregation gets on firmer footing and that the expertise of the pastor can then be used somewhere else.

    I once told a pastor that I saw the congregation taking a liking to a person who was related to quite a few and who knew how to preach and would be returning state side in a few years. He went to a different church in a different state before he could be let go.

    I wish you would write a post on bad leadership and how that makes good pastors and members want to leave ASAP.

  • A friend left a growing church because he felt The Lord was done with him as the church hit a plateau in growth for a period of time. Later he realized he made a terrible mistake and it took him years to get back into the will of God. He confided to me that what he thought as God being finished with him was just a time of rest before another season of growth. He said he left too soon and regretted it. Unfortunately the church did not recover and hit a terrible time of decline.

    • Thom Rainer says on

      I’ve heard similar stories. Thanks.

    • Maybe it was a rest period before the time of decline. Whichever, why did it take years to get back into God’s will? Maybe he was IN God’s will the whole time. Maybe God’s will for us is to make our best decisions with what we’ve got and move on. Of course if his decision was based on selfishness, pride, etc. then bad decisions can be made. I have been out of a ministerial position before and while it wasn’t where I wanted to be I was exactly where God had me. I think that means I was in His will, just not in a pastorate.

  • Dane Gray says on

    I left my first church after 12 years because I felt the church was satisfied and was no longer willing to follow my direction.

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