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A new, ground-breaking study by Your Church and our sister publication Leadership reveals an inside look at the heart and mind of pastors. It also reveals how congregations assess their pastors on some of the same issues. This first report looks at pastors' spiritual gifts and calling to ministry.

More than nine in ten pastors (92 percent) have taken a spiritual gifts assessment and have had their spiritual gifts confirmed by others. This type of feedback was helpful since our survey gave pastors the opportunity to assign to themselves up to five of nine spiritual gifts. On average, pastors recognized 2.9 spiritual gifts in themselves, while congregants recognized an average of 2.5 gifts in their pastors.

Congregants and pastors agree that pastors' top two spiritual gifts are teaching and shepherding. But the similarities end there. Compared to the congregants' ranking, pastors rate themselves much higher for the gifts of exhortation (19 percentage points higher), administration (16 points higher) and prophecy (11 points higher, an astonishing four times higher than the congregant ranking). In contrast, congregants give pastors a higher rating in evangelism (30 percent) than pastors give themselves (18 percent), as well as in being a helper (9 points higher), and in giving (8 points higher).

Seventeen in twenty pastors (83 percent) believe that God has clearly communicated to them a unique calling—to a life of ministry in their current job. The same proportion of congregants (84 percent) believe that this unique calling for their pastor is very evident. The remaining 3 in 20 pastors (17 percent) sense that their calling to church ministry is not completely evident. Older pastors are more certain of their calling. A fourth of younger pastors (age 50 and under) are looking for a clear calling, while just eight percent of those over the age of 50 are somewhat uncertain.

More than a third (37 percent) of pastors say their calling became known to them through a gradual process rather than a defining moment. A fourth report that their calling changed somewhat (20 percent) or completely (4 percent) over the years. The majority report that their calling has not changed, but the ways in which they fulfill their calling has changed. Only one in five pastors (18 percent), can state that their calling has remained unchanged.

This study did not probe for a connection between a pastor's sense of calling and the high annual turnover rate among pastors of about 25 percent. In hopes of reducing this turnover rate I have two recommendations. To churches seeking a pastor: make sure your candidates have a clear calling to church ministry and an awareness of their spiritual gifts before hiring them. For those currently in ministry: continue to seek out God for clarity, affirmation, and direction in these same areas.

The next Special Report in this series will assess pastoral leadership traits, strengths, and weaknesses.

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