Wholeness

How do pastors rate their overall well-being?

Barna asked pastors to rate their satisfaction with various aspects of their well-being, including their spiritual, physical, financial, emotional and mental health. Pastors reported how often they experience a range of feelings associated with contentment or dissatisfaction. This table is a snapshot of how different groups of pastors think about the various dimensions of their lives.

For the most part, pastors present a positive picture. The most common self-descriptions include having a good overall quality of life (91%), ranking spiritual well-being as excellent or good (88%) and being in good emotional and mental health (85%). About three-quarters of pastors frequently feel motivated to be a better leader (73%).

Few report frequently experiencing the negative experiences and emotions Barna explored in the study. For example, the vast majority does not often feel in-adequate to their calling (88%), lonely or isolated from others (86%) or emotionally or mentally exhausted (79%). The areas of health that show some “softness” include physical well-being (67% say excellent or good), finances (69%), feeling well-supported by people close to them (68%) and feeling energized by ministry work (60%). Most pastors are relatively satisfied in these dimensions but, in comparison to other aspects of their lives, contentment is less widespread.