July Release
At a glance
Less Exhausted, More Confident
Pastors are less exhausted and more confident in their calling than in recent years, but vocational satisfaction remains at its lowest point in more than a decade.
Great Pastoral Needs
Mental and physical health tops the list when pastors identify their greatest wellbeing needs—a finding that may reframe how churches think about supporting their leaders.
Vacation Time Dilemma
The burnout-relief actions pastors say would help them most, such as sabbaticals and role alignment, are also the ones they find hardest to take, and the most commonly offered forms of support rank last in perceived helpfulness.
Although pastoral exhaustion is trending downward, vocational satisfaction has hit a decade-long low, underscoring the need for more than just standard support resources. New data reveals that pastors’ greatest needs—physical, mental, and relational wellbeing—are best served by high-impact changes like sabbaticals and role realignment that require deep congregational trust and intentional space.
Related Research
