What kind of spiritual upbringing do pastors have? Are they well educated? Do they find anything lacking in their ministry training? When did they start their first ministry job and what did they do? The latest Christianity Today International research has some answers.
SPIRITUAL BEGINNINGS
The typical pastor was converted to Christ just before the age of 13. This is significantly earlier than the typical evangelical Protestant who came to faith at the age of 17.
Two-thirds of pastors (67%) in the study were raised by at least one Christian parent. The vast majority of these, five in six, were raised by two Christian parents.
Twelve percent of today’s pastors come from a home where one of the parents was employed in ministry.
INFLUENCES IN CHOOSING MINISTRY AS A CAREER
Strong sense of God’s call = 87% Pastor or mentor who modeled ministry favorably = 58% Parents = 27% Other family or friends = 25% Crisis event in life = 11% Spouse = 9%
EDUCATIONAL PREPARATION
Pastors are much more educated than the average American. Over 9 out of 10 pastors (94%) graduated from college in preparation for church ministry compared to only 21 percent for U.S. adults. Three-fourths attended graduate school.
Seminaries played a larger role in preparing pastors for ministry than Bible colleges. One third of pastors (35%) attended Bible college while nearly twice as many (66%) have seminary degrees.
Despite the fact the majority of pastors had formal preparation for the ministry, many found they were unprepared for certain assignments once they were on the job.
TOP 5 THINGS THOUGHT LACKING IN SEMINARY/BIBLE COLLEGE TRAINING
Conflict management 31% Business administration/management 24% Leadership 12% Spirituality 7% Counseling 6%
FIRST MINISTRY POSITION
The typical pastor assumed his or her first ministry position at the age of 25.
The majority (59%) started out as a solo pastor with no other ministry staff at the church.
Four in ten (38%) started as a ministry staff person in a multiple staff setting.
Only three percent began ministry as a senior pastor with ministry staff.
John C. LaRue is Vice President of Online Services for Christianity Today International. To reply, write: Newsletter@LeadershipJournal.net
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