By Chris McGee/Guidestone
DALLAS (BP) – Recent key research findings into pastoral wellness reveal that many pastors struggle with financial, physical, and mental wellness.
Commissioned by GuideStone Financial Resources and conducted by Grey Matter Research & Consulting, a 2024 Pastoral Wellness Study found that more than 80 percent of pastors surveyed sometimes sacrifice their own wellbeing in their ministerial capacity, with more than half saying they sometimes sacrifice their family’s wellbeing while doing ministry.
The survey audience included GuideStone members under age 55 who are ministers working at churches and who have less than $50,000 in assets under management at GuideStone. The survey respondents were asked questions about financial, physical, mental, spiritual, and relational wellness.
When asked which is the hardest area for them to be healthy and well, 32 percent of responding ministers identified financial (citing rising costs and insufficient income), 28 percent said physical (not exercising enough and not eating healthily) and 21 percent said mental (including stress and anxiety, often brought on by the burdens of ministry).
On the financial front, responses indicated many pastors aren’t prepared for emergencies or retirement. Almost half (48 percent) said they have less than $5,000 in non-retirement savings, one-third said they have stopped or reduced retirement savings to cover emergencies, and nearly half (49 percent) said they have taken on debt to pay for emergencies.
“The findings about pastors’ financial wellness are especially pivotal because financial wellness impacts other areas of wellness,” said GuideStone President Dr. Hance Dilbeck. “Helping pastors get to a better place financially has so many positive effects on their families and their ability to do the vital ministry work to which they are called and for which so many others rely on them.”
Debt serves as a common obstacle to financial wellness, with 70 percent of respondents saying they have non-mortgage debt, averaging $43,000. More than 3 in 4 respondents said they wish they had started saving for retirement earlier.
The survey findings revealed that many pastors struggle with their level of financial knowledge. Fewer than half said they were somewhat or very well prepared for financial matters by their college, seminary nor first employer in ministry, while 48 percent said they put off thinking about financial matters because they don’t feel knowledgeable in that area.
“These survey results will help us better understand and address the needs of pastors so that we can fulfill our mission of enhancing their financial security and resilience,” Dilbeck said.
GuideStone recently launched a Ministerial Resources Center on its website. The tool features a variety of resources designed to help navigate common financial, benefit and tax-related questions and issues for ministers. Ministers are encouraged to consult with appropriate advisors on all their unique legal, accounting and tax obligations.