Religion · Nationwide · August 20, 2026
Survey: 82% of US Pastors Have Considered Leaving Ministry
A new survey called the Culture Resurrection Index, commissioned by Virginia Beach pastor Jared Fabac of One City Church, found that 82% of 1,000 US pastors surveyed have considered leaving pastoral ministry within the past five years, according to Christian Today. Among those who considered leaving, 74% cited church culture—not doctrine or calling—as the leading factor. Nearly two-thirds (63%) said they had never been trained to give difficult feedback, and 77% wanted more training in modeling healthy staff culture. Fabac said seminaries "train the sermon" but "rarely train the system." The report cites related findings: Barna Group data showing vocational satisfaction among Protestant pastors fell from 72% in 2015 to 52% in early 2026, and Lifeway Research showing conflict (18%) and burnout (16%) as reasons former pastors gave for leaving, behind a change in calling (40%). Similar strain was noted among Church of England clergy, with 40% reporting isolation and nearly 30% showing signs of depression.
Source: www.christiantoday.com
Why Bible-Believing Christians Should Care
Bible-believing Christians should take seriously that the crisis facing pastors is not primarily theological drift but organizational and relational failure inside churches meant to model Christlike community. Scripture calls elders to shepherd willingly and with wisdom (1 Peter 5:2-3), and churches that leave pastors untrained in conflict, feedback, and healthy culture are setting shepherds up to fail—or leave. Congregations should not assume a pastor's exhaustion signals loss of faith; it may signal a governance and discipleship gap the local church has a biblical duty to close through elder support, accountability, and realistic expectations.
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. — Galatians 6:9
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From the book
When a pastor does speak, activists mobilize to personalize the issue under Rule 13, framing him not as a teacher of the Word but as a political partisan causing division. To avoid the label of divisive, the eldership pressures him back to safe spiritual topics. The result is a church that keeps its statement of faith on the website and functions as a secularized non-profit in practice. The salt loses its saltiness because the institution has learned to fear the customer more than the Lord.
— Chapter 17, “The Mechanics of Capture”
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