‍May 18, 2025

Pastor Joe Cameneti Sr.

Barna, 2023 Survey

• 33% of senior pastors have considered quitting in the last year.
   
  • 60% of them doubted their ministry call 
   
  • 56% of them said it was the immense stress of the job 
   
  • 43% of them said they felt lonely and isolated 
   
  • 25% of them said they seriously doubted their faith 

Barna, Lifeway, Fuller Institute, Pastor’s Survey

• 90% of pastors work 55 to 75 hours per week
• 84% of pastors say they’re on call 24 hours a day and the majority don’t take a sabbath day rest
• 90% of pastors feel fatigued and worn out every week
• 91% of pastors have experienced some form of burnout  
• 70% of pastors have lower self-esteem than when they entered the ministry 
• 70% of pastors fight depression  

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Barna, Lifeway, Fuller Institute,Pastor’s Survey

• 80% of pastors worry that church conflict is right around the corner. 
• 54% of pastors find the weight of the ministry is overwhelming. 
• 80% of pastors wish their spouse would choose another profession
• 50% of pastors have their marriages end in divorce   
• 90% of pastors won’t retire as a pastor.
   
  • 45% of them are under the age of 45

Barna, Lifeway, Fuller Institute, Pastor’s Survey

• Over 1,500 pastors left the ministry every month in 2024
• 4,000 new churches begin each year and 7,000 churches close  

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We Must Remember the Enemy Pays Special Attention to Pastors and Ministers

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Ephesians 6:11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. New Living Translation  

2 Corinthians 12:8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. New Living Translation  

2 Corinthians 12:10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. New Living Translation 

Luke 5:15 Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. New International Version  

If Pastors Fail to Take Breaks, Ministry Will Break Them 

Luke 5:17 One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. New International Version  

Purpose for Pastoral Sabbaticals 

1. Rest their bodies and emotions 
2. Pursue God for an extended period of time. 
3. Receive new church vision for the future 
4. Spend time with each other and their children. 
5. Give the congregation an opportunity to stretch themselves

Pray For Them

1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 24 God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. 25 Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us. New Living Translation  

An Opportunity For You to Rise Up and Use Your Gifts