At a Glance

• Strong Marriages, Strained Friendships. Over 90 percent of pastors report strong marriages—but two in five feel lonely, and just one in three have a trusted confidant outside church.
• Relational Health Lags Behind Other Areas. Despite high scores in faith and vocation, pastors score lowest in relational well-being (67/100)—yet few ask for help in this area.

Pastors stand before congregations each week offering spiritual guidance, biblical wisdom, and pastoral care. They counsel marriages, navigate conflict, and shepherd families through crisis. But when the sermon ends and the sanctuary empties, many pastors face a different reality: deep, persistent loneliness.

Barna’s study, The Relationships of Today’s Pastors, measured pastoral well-being on five dimensions of a flourishing life: relationships, well-being, finances, vocation and faith. While pastors score high in faith, vocation and finances, their lowest marks appear where human connection matters most—relationships. In fact, pastors rate their relationships even lower than do churchgoers.