“This summit represents decades of Barna’s work helping to understand, encourage and equip pastors across the U.S. and all around the world,” shared pastor and author Glenn Packiam as he welcomed viewers to Barna’s The State of Pastors Summit.

With the help of dedicated partners (World Vision, Brotherhood Mutual, RightNow Media, Gloo and World Impact), we debuted The State of Pastors, Volume 2 during this free event cohosted by Packiam and Sharon Hodde Miller. This time featured new presentations from Barna CEO David Kinnaman and insights from leaders including Rich Villodas, John Mark Comer, Dr. Anita Phillips, Alvin Sanders, Christine Caine, Faith Eury Cho, Gabriel Salguero and Ed Stetzer.

Here’s an overview ofThe State of Pastors Summit. You can watch the webcast replay HERE. (The webcast, the viewer’s guide and David Kinnaman’s presentation slides are also available to view on Barna Access Plus!)

1. The Pastor’s Identity, Calling & Confidence A large percentage of pastors have considered quitting in the past few years. Research also shows that pastors’ confidence in their ministry calling took a significant hit during and directly following the pandemic. Encouragingly, some of these downward trends are beginning to reverse as of late 2023—but there’s still much work to be done.

“We’re not quite at the crisis levels that we were at during the height of the last season,” Kinnaman noted during a presentation on pastors’ confidence in their ministry calling. “But the world of pastoring has really shifted. This idea that we’ve been spiritual frontline workers is not just your imagination.”