Earlier this year, we reached out to a variety of ministry leaders in our Listening Sessions as part of our recently submitted application to the Lilly Endowment. We bore witness in those sessions—and regularly experience the same in our ongoing engagement with today’s ministry leaders—that they are profoundly impacted by stress, exhaustion, and overwhelm as they seek to answer the call to serve. This isn’t just an occasional weariness. For many, it’s become a way of life.

We heard it in the tone of seasoned pastors who no longer expect a sabbatical, let alone a weekend off. We saw it in the eyes of ministry leaders stretched thin by caregiving, staffing shortages, and budget anxiety. And we felt it in the poignant silences that followed questions like, “What’s sustaining you right now?”

This is not just anecdotal. The data confirms it.

One wonders if the preface to Luther’s Small Catechism of 1529 includes an apt expression for what we’re encountering today: “God help us! What miseries I beheld!” While we would like to be kinder and gentler to today’s ministry leaders than Luther was to his parishioners, we can’t ignore the troubling signs of a culture shift both within and beyond the Church. One that is perhaps best described as a slow erosion of faith—and one that may be infecting those charged with proclaiming and sustaining it.

Signs of Strain: What the Research Reveals

According to Barna’s 2023 data on U.S. pastors:

65% reported feelings of loneliness or isolation, up from 42% in 2015.
In the same span, those who feel frequently supported by people close to them dropped from 69% to 49%.
Only 22% of pastors regularly receive spiritual support from a network of peers or a mentor.
And strikingly, 65% of pastors aren’t receiving professional support—whether from a therapist, mentor, or spiritual director.

It’s no wonder so many are burning out. Pastors today face the same mental health challenges as the general population, yet they are half as likely to seek help. The isolation isn’t just social; it’s vocational. Many are feeling unseen, unheard, and spiritually depleted.

A Crisis of Discipleship

Alongside the internal fatigue of clergy, another challenge emerges—one just as heavy, and perhaps even more disheartening: the waning spiritual motivation among congregants.

A particularly compelling quote from the National Survey of Religious Leaders (NSRL) captures this tension:

“I yearn for greater spiritual development among my people. I’ve been trained to foster it—yet my training is not sufficient where the motivation for it is lacking.”

That yearning—that ache for transformation in our people but an awareness of our own inadequacy—feels like the heart-cry of so many faithful leaders. It's not just that church members are busy or distracted. It's that the old motivators no longer seem to work. The hunger that once drove adult discipleship, regular worship, and Bible engagement has dulled. Or disappeared.

The data backs this up. According to Pew’s Religious Landscape Study 2025, among U.S. Mainline Protestants:

Only 50% say they belong to a congregation
60% do not attend services (in-person or virtual) monthly
20% say they seldom or never pray
And over 60% seldom or never read the Bible outside of services

And while the numbers are American, the spiritual climate is not unfamiliar to many of us in Canada—particularly in Mainline and Reformed traditions. The soil feels harder, the roots shallower, the interest cooler.

As pastors, we were trained to nurture growth, to teach the faith, to offer compelling witness. But more and more, it feels like the will to grow is fading—replaced by nostalgia, apathy, or exhaustion.

Education, Formation, and the (Mis)alignment

This brings us to a deeper question: are we equipping pastors to minister in a time like this?

According to the 2025 report, Reimagining the Role of Graduate Theological Education in Clergy Formation, spiritual disciplines were ranked as the top competency alumni rely on in ministry today. Yet only 39% of schools offer a course focused on spiritual practices.

Let that sink in: the one area that pastors most say they need is often not formally taught.

Instead, seminaries—bound by historical structures and academic categories—continue to emphasize theology, exegesis, and homiletics, often at the expense of sustainable rhythms for life and leadership. The result is clergy who can write a sermon on sanctification but can’t find time for silence. Who know the stages of grief but have no one to call when they’re crying in their car.

We’ve got to do better.

So What Now? …where is the hope?

There’s an arresting quote in the book Resilient Ministry: What Pastors Told Us About Surviving and Thriving:

“The sad fact is that, for most of us in ministry, our work for Christ comes before our relationship with Christ.”

That reversal is not just unfortunate—it’s unsustainable. If we hope to minister with authenticity and joy, we need to recover the practices and people who connect us to the Source of our calling.

At Ministry Forum, our hope is to be one of those trusted companions—a co-labourer on the journey. We are not here to offer quick fixes or glossy strategies. But we do want to walk alongside you with honesty, hope, and resources that speak to the realities of ministry today.

And here is our hope: The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is still at work in the Church today—even in its quiet corners, even among weary leaders. Spiritual malaise may be real, but it is not the end of the story. God is not done. The soil may be hard, but resurrection never depended on soil quality—it depends on the power of God.

So we invite you to take one small step today:
Call a friend in ministry.
Book time for silence.
Re-read the Gospel of John slowly.
Pray this prayer aloud:

“Lord Jesus, renew in me the joy of your salvation. Where I am tired, bring rest. Where I am numb, awaken love. Where I have lost faith in your Church, rekindle faith in You. Remind me that I am not alone. And help me to remind someone else.”

In our next post, we’ll take a look at some recent Canadian data, including a compelling podcast episode from Statistics Canada—“Losing Our Religion? It’s Not That Simple.” We’ll unpack what the rise of “religious nones” means for pastoral leaders and how disaffiliation is unfolding differently across Canada.

But before we get there, I’d love to hear from you:

Do these reflections resonate with your experience?
What does support look like in your ministry right now?
Where do you see signs of life—or signs of fatigue?

You’re not alone - Let’s keep walking this road together.

Dig into the Data Yourself

If you're the kind who wants to look under the hood and see the raw numbers, here are some of the key resources we’ve drawn from—each offering a unique angle on the challenges (and some encouragements) facing today's ministry leaders.

Barna – Pastoral Support Systems (2023)
Reveals that 65% of pastors feel lonely or isolated, up dramatically from 2015. Support from peers and mentors is declining, and most are not using professional help services. A sobering look at the inner life of clergy.
NSRL – Clergy in America (2025)
A wide-ranging national survey showing that most clergy are satisfied with their work—but also identifies a “mainline malaise”: less happiness, weaker congregational connections, and declining orthodox belief among mainline Protestant leaders.
Pew Research – Religious Landscape Study (2025)
Good news: the decline in Christianity may be leveling off. Hard news: young adults are far less likely to pray, attend, or believe than previous generations. Offers critical insights into where faith is heading.
ATS – Reimagining the Role of Graduate Theological Education in Clergy Formation (2025)
Based on alum and faculty data, this report shows a gap between what pastors need in the field (like spiritual practices) and what most seminaries currently offer. Encouragingly, some schools are beginning to innovate.
Resilient Ministry: What Pastors Told Us About Surviving and Thriving
A deeply practical book based on five years of research into what helps pastors thrive over the long haul. Unpacks five key themes for sustainable ministry: spiritual formation, self-care, emotional intelligence, family, and leadership.