Most Protestant pastors have little work experience outside of vocational ministry - Lifeway Research
A Lifeway Research study reveals that most current U.S. Protestant senior pastors work outside of ministry for only a short time as adults, with only 3 in 10 beginning vocational ministry as the senior pastor.
The journey to the pastorate can start at nearly any age, according to responses to the survey, but the majority of pastors say they began a ministry job by their early 30s.
In the period between graduating high school and becoming a senior pastor, 34% of pastors spent five years or less working in a non-ministry job, including 13% with less than a year of secular work experience. Another 24% worked outside the ministry for six to 10 years. Fewer have longer non-ministry careers before becoming a senior pastor, with 10% working for 11-15 years outside the church, 10% 16-20 years, 7% 21-25 years, 7% 26-30 years, and 8% more than 30 years in non-ministry jobs.
The research was conducted via a phone survey of 1,004 Protestant pastors between Aug. 29, 2023 and Sept. 20, 2023.Â
I am a bi-vocational. I have a full-time engineering job and I preach the gospel. To preach the gospel, effectively we need to know where people are at, their everyday struggles, etc. and that includes their working life.