MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — COVID had a big impact on church attendance. Now, worker burnout is leaving some churches in a rough spot.
What You Need To Know
- A recent survey showed two of every five pastors considered quitting in the past year
- At one area Baptist church where the lead pastor is retiring, church leaders are concerned about finding a replacement
- Leaders in larger churches say they haven't seen much turnover, but are concerned about the workload
Many are losing their leaders and some are concerned about how they’ll find someone else amid pastor shortages and burnout.
Margaret Martin is on the senior usher board at United Missionary Baptist Church in Middletown and she's been praying for a miracle.
She said COVID already drove away church members and now the church that she’s been going to for decades is about to lose its long-time leader.
“Our pastor has let us know that he will be retiring,” said Martin.
They haven’t decided who will take his place.
“To me, it's very sacred and it's a calling,” said Martin.
She said she knows that calling because her mom was a pastor at a different church. Martin is not ready to take on that same role, but she’s concerned if they have to look outside of the church whether they’ll find anyone.
“I really thought about back when my mother was a pastor, and there were challenges back then. that we didn't have no clue of what was going to be. but now in this era that we're living in now, oh, my goodness. the challenges I feel would be, do I really want to take on this job? This job is a 24/7 call,” said Martin.
According to the most recent poll data, nearly two in five pastors asked nationwide say they considered quitting in the past year and are on the brink of burnout.
Martin is hoping her prayers will get more ministers to step up.
Church leaders from larger churches like Crossroads Church say they haven’t seen as much turnover, but they have also seen more pastors facing burnout.