New study highlights key reasons pastors leave ministry

New research has make clear the aspects that make some pastors more prone to step away from the pulpit.

A Lifeway Research study found that just 1.1% of Protestant pastors leave pastoral ministry every year prior to retirement age. However, a comparison of current and former pastors reveals necessary predictors of pastoral longevity—and what drives some to quit.

The executive director of Lifeway Research, Scott McConnell, said: “Experts can theorize what keeps pastors within the pulpit, but only a comparison of pastors who’ve stayed to those that have left can point to what matters.

“This rare opportunity to see what helps and what diminishes a pastor’s likelihood of staying in pastoral ministry points to practical areas that pastors and their congregations can put money into for longevity.”

Among the findings are that family life plays a decisive role. Pastors who put their families first and integrate them into ministry are significantly more prone to remain in leadership.

Those who put their families first during scheduling conflicts were 1.7 times more prone to still be serving.

By contrast, resentment throughout the family proved damaging: 41% of former pastors said their families resented ministry demands, compared with only 16% of current pastors.

Clear expectations also made a difference. Over two thirds (68%) of current pastors reported that their church was presented to them truthfully throughout the hiring process, compared with just 49% of former pastors.

Having a written outline of expectations also proved critical—pastors with such documents were 2.7 times more prone to stay in ministry. Unrealistic expectations, nonetheless, were a significant driver of exits.

McConnell explained: “Pastoring is tough work. But what makes the job not possible is when a congregation has unrealistic, hidden or competing views of what the job entails.

“One of an important and loving things a congregation can do is to truthfully and realistically define the work of the pastor – meaning the remainder of the church’s work is completed by others.”

Access to counselling training and resources increased the likelihood of pastors remaining in ministry. Those with lay counselling ministries, graduate-level counselling courses, or attendance at counselling conferences were significantly more prone to stay.

Not surprisingly, conflict proved to be one among the strongest negative influences.

Pastors in churches with established discipline processes were two-and-a-half times more prone to remain, while those that had faced serious conflict—especially over politics—were 2.5 times less prone to still be in ministry.

McConnell said: “Believers have a shared mission and work to do together in an area church. Differences of opinion are a natural a part of shared work, however it’s necessary for a congregation to be resolutely committed to unity.

“When other priorities grow to be more necessary than being one body, the church will not be just hurting itself; it’s hurting its pastor.”

Longevity was closely tied to a way of connection. Nearly 70% of former pastors reported feeling isolated, compared with just a 3rd of current pastors.

Pastors who usually openly discussed challenges with lay leaders or Bible study groups were 2.2 times and three.9 times respectively more prone to endure in ministry.

The study also found that pride could undermine pastoral stability – former pastors were way more likely (1.8 times) to imagine their church’s progress depended solely on them. By contrast, those that shared leadership and maintained humility were more prone to stay.

Churches that offered sabbaticals gave their pastors a further boost. Pastors in those churches were nearly twice as prone to proceed serving in ministry.

Age and church size also played a key role. Pastors aged 55–64 were more inclined to step down than younger counterparts, while those leading larger congregations were at greater risk of leaving.

Leaders of churches with no less than 250 in attendance were 7.3 times more prone to exit ministry than those at smaller congregations.

McConnell encapsulated the findings “with two themes: pastoral humility and congregational peace.”

He said: “Pastors prone to stay within the pulpit are seeing family as more necessary than the role, willing to share struggles and willing to be trained in counselling.

“Pastors who stay in ministry usually tend to be in congregations characterised by resolving differences, having clear expectations and participating within the work.”

Lifeway’s study was based on surveys of 487 current pastors and 397 former pastors, and was conducted in spring and summer 2025. Researchers used statistical evaluation to discover the aspects most predictive of pastoral longevity.