As a part of JPC’s mission, each month we ask our members to answer what we call an “Insight Question.” The purposes of the JPC monthly IQ are simple:

1.  To coach the coach:  

Journey members’ responses are vital to me as I share their individual journeys and seek to understand the issues they face; 

2.  To coach the Journey coaching community: 

IQ results (without identifying information) are usually distributed to our members;

3.  To coach the church world outside of Journey:

Many of our IQs become the material for Journey articles we post online. This article is an example. 

NOW AND THEN

In two recent IQs, we asked young ministers (U40s) about their lives since entering their vocations, be it church ministry, marketplace ministry, or missons.  We listed ten categories with five statements in each category. Each respondent was asked to read each question and indicate, on a scale of one to ten, how true that statement is for him or her.

THE SCALE:

An answer of one (1) means that the statement is not at all true for the respondent;

An answer of five (5) means that the respondent is neutral about the statement; 

An answer of ten (10) means that the statement is absolutely true for the respondent.

A HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE:  

Category:  JESUS

Statement:  I am confident Jesus Christ walks with me in everything I face. 

Answer:  8 

We compiled all responses and calculated the averages for each statement. These are posted below, followed by our observations on the results. 

This is the second of a two part look at young ministers’ lives in ministry, then and now.  Part one is available at journeypastoralcoaching.com.  Click on the Journey Pastoral Coaching archives or enter “then and now” in the search feature.  

THE CATEGORIES AND STATEMENTS

THE CHURCH

• The church has given me all the support I thought it would since I have been in the ministry.  4.8 

• I love the church more today than when I began in ministry.  7.0

• I think the evangelical Church is healthier today than it was when I began in ministry.  5.4  

• I admire my denominational leaders more today than when I entered the ministry. 5.0

• My personal connection with the church is more vibrant today than when I entered the ministry.  6.9 

Observations:  The results above are consistent with what I hear from JPC members as well as from young ministers who are not Journey members: the relationship between the church and its young leaders is not what we would hope. Respondents passionately love the church. They loved it when they began their ministries (as we have heard from the earliest days of Journey) and they love the church even more today. But their personal connection with the church is somewhat challenged: so much of their life in the church is consumed by the needs of others that their own spiritual and community needs often go unmet and there is little margin in their schedules to adequately address these needs. Respondents are uncertain that the church is healthier – or less healthy – than it was when they entered the ministry. Of concern to me as a pastoral coach who serves young ministers, is their response to the statements on support from the church and admiration of denominational leaders. Their ambivalent feelings about denominational leaders are very much in line with the results of a survey we conducted in July 2018 on the subject (You can review that article here). Of particular concern is the lack of support young ministers feel from the church at large. One might conjecture that this is simply the result of their idealistic dreams encountering the church as it really is. I would disagree. To be sure, a good measure of idealism marked most of us when we entered the ministry, but, for whatever reasons, the church today does not respect and care for its leaders as it did in days past; young church leaders today feel that absence. 

Note: Because the numbers for these five statements were lower than I anticipated, I sent these scores to young ministers for their observations.  Here are their thoughts on the score above . . .

Minister #1:  I’m seeing that in general, young ministers love the church more and feel more connected to it despite its relative lack of health, their lack of connection with leadership, and support from the church.  In other words, it seems like as a group young ministers have found the church to be more flawed they imagined, while also finding that they love it even more despite those flaws.  

Minister #2:  It seems the connection to the local church is stronger than the connection to the universal church. Or maybe the connection to those whom young ministers lead is stronger than the connection to leaders who are supposed to support young ministers.

Minister #3:  The church doesn’t understand how important it is that we care for our church leaders. Still, ministers are learning to love—trying to love—like Jesus. This is encouraging to me! . . . Overall, these ratings seem noticeably low. I would have thought they’d be slightly higher.

Minister #4:  A majority of respondents feel the church has not given them all the support they thought they would need since going in the ministry. Still, since being in ministry the majority of the people love the church more today than when then began the ministry and personal connection to the church is greater today than when they started ministry.  Surprising that a majority of our respondents have a neutral view of our denominational leaders. If we have a healthier connection with our church, why is our view of our leaders so neutral.  Is it because our leaders haven’t reached out and connected with us or even know we exist? Or because . . . we haven’t reached out to get to know our leaders. 

Minister #5:  It saddens me that the average is so low for so many of us to feel unsupported by the church. I find it interesting that despite a lower average for feeling supported by the church there is a higher average for a growing love for the church. We have a generation of young leaders who really see the full potential of the bride of Christ, yet find themselves discontent with its current state. I think these young leaders are longing for a more genuine and real relationships with their leaders that promote growth, mentoring, and collaboration. I think we love what the church really could be, but haven’t seen the realization of that hope.

Minister #6:Love for the church and connection to the church at large has grown, while seemingly “love” for and connection to leaders and denominations have not grown. Perhaps I’m reading that into the survey, but seeing as we don’t feel supported and admiration has not grown it seems the relationship with the church at large is more positive than that specifically of denominations and leaders. 

INNER LIFE 

• My prayer life is more vibrant today than it was when I entered the ministry. 6.3

• I depend more on my prayer life today than when I entered the ministry. 7.3 

• I am less concerned with position today than when I began in ministry. 7.4

• I compare myself to others less today than when I began in ministry. 6.9

• I walk in / depend on the Holy Spirit more today than when I entered the ministry. 7.6

OBSERVATIONS:  Robert Murray M’Cheyne wrote, “Your own soul is your first and greatest care.”  Soul care is a value we emphasize strongly and constantly at Journey, a value much like breathing is a value: do it and live; don’t do it and die. My coaching calls with Journey members affirm the numbers above: soul care is a first order priority for them. It is also a first order challenge: note that comparing ourselves to others is still an issue – their response number wasn’t as high as we might hope on this issue of self-comparison. But overall, the fruit of members’ soul care is evident: compared to their early days in ministry, their prayer lives are more vibrant, they depend more on prayer, and they depend more on the Holy Spirit than ever before. Note that the numbers are not all nines or higher, but in the seven range: these are honest answers, descriptions of reality rather than attempts to impress. This is perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the responses to these five statements for it tells us that respondents are on soul care, honest about their soul care, and intent on continuing to go deeper and stronger in soul care. 

SHARED JOURNEY

• When I began in ministry I didn’t realize how much I would need other ministers to walk with.  7.3 

• It was easy to find older ministers to mentor me. None have ever turned me down.  4.6

• I am more attentive to significant relationships today than when I entered the ministry. 8

• I am more active in walking deeply with peers today than I was when I entered the ministry.  7.7

• I am working more with others to develop my spiritual life today than when I entered the ministry.  7.8 

OBSERVATIONS:  One number hit me like a punch to the stomach:  4.6. Young ministers can’t find more experienced ministers who are willing to coach-mentor them. I hear it all the time from young ministers who want to join Journey, young ministers want to learn from those who have gone before them but can’t find coach-mentors. Sadly, Journey is full; my weekly coaching calendar is bursting at the seams and Journey always has a waiting list to join our coaching community. Still, young ministers persevere in looking for mentors even if the generation ahead of them isn’t open to coaching them. They have more important things to do, I guess, than following the model of Jesus with The Twelve or the model of Jesus to the Twelve to Barnabas to Paul to Timothy to, etc, etc.  But as the numbers above attest, young ministers are serious about shared journey. Very serious. And if they can’t find older ministers who are willing to walk with them, they’ll walk with each other. Journey members are fully engaged in peer mentorship, sharing the journey in amazing and life-giving ways. It encourages me that this generation will restore the New Testament model of mentorship and community to the church. I say, “God bless them” for it. If they’re willing to lead the way, bring it on. May it be the seed of a new harvest of New Testament community in the church. 

STRESS

• I sometimes wrestle with stress to the point that I fear burnout.  7.4

• I have experienced significant depression since entering the ministry. 7.2  

• Finances have been a major stressor in my ministry life.  7.0

• If married, my marriage has been significantly stressed by ministry life. 7.0 

• Because of stress I have seriously considered leaving the ministry. 6.2

OBSERVATIONS: Our respondents quantify what studies say: ministers’ stress is among the highest of all professions. Not only for young ministers, but ministers of all ages: the stress of life in ministry is heavy. Be it depression, the strain on marriage and family, the temptation to leave the ministry, and burnout, high stress in ministry life is practically a universal. Perhaps more uniquely, finances are a “major” stressor in young ministers’ lives.  High student loan debt, low paying first and second ministry positions, bi-vocational ministry, and just starting families make finances an all too real and day-to-day, paycheck-to-paycheck issue. This is one reason why Journey Pastoral Coaching offers no-cost coaching: our members don’t PAY for coaching; they EARN it by investing in each other. Relating this set of statements on Stress back to the previous set of statements on Shared Journey, I can also joyfully report that our members are primary support sources for each other as they do ministry life with these stressors. We thank God for their care, wisdom, and Spirit-led ministry to each other in this area. In a few weeks, we will be releasing the results of a survey on ministry stress we are conducting among young ministers this month.  We invite you read the results when we are able to post them.  

STUDY 

• I am a more passionate learner now than when I entered the ministry. 7.7

• I am a more devoted student of God’s Word today than when I began in ministry. 7.4 

• I read and study more now than when I first entered the ministry.  7.2

• I now more seriously read and study the writings of others than I did when I entered the ministry.  7.0

• I am more committed to being a lifelong learner than I was when I began in ministry. 8.6

OBSERVATIONS:  Lifelong learning is another of our twelve core values at Journey. Because it is a value, we prioritize it and practice it. JPC members post resources for everyone every day, and most send resources to individual members on a regular basis. We are lifelong learners. The numbers reflected in this final set of statements are really exciting.  Not just because they demonstrate just how seriously our members approach study, but how much they enjoy it. Look at the adjectives and adverbs. Yes, you see “seriously,” but you also see “passionate” and “devoted.” And you see the word, “committed,” just as couple that is truly in love are committed to each other and enjoy all the pleasures of that commitment. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Our two-part survey asking young ministers to look at their lives when they entered ministry and their lives today provides results that are encouraging, concerning, and challenging.

Challenging.  Young ministers love the church more today than when they entered the ministry. But they have not experienced the support from the church they had anticipated; neither can they report strong connection with or investment in them from their denominational leaders. We again recommend you read our recent article, Connectedness: Young Ministers Tell Us How Connected They Feel to Their Denominational Leaders. 

Concerning. Stress continues to be a real factor in all ministers’ lives, but most especially in the lives of young ministers. The heat of life in ministry pushes the needle into the red zone and burnout is always a possibility. Recent departures from the ministry by what we term “successful” pastors serve as proof. Set this under the same microscope as the lack of support young ministers feel from the church and the disconnect they feel from their leaders, and the stress factor becomes all the more concerning.  

Encouraging.  Our respondents are following hard after Jesus, giving first-priority emphasis to soul care. This includes the study of God’s Word, prayer, reading, and walking with others – all important spiritual disciplines. Encouraging as well is respondents’ is respondents’ clear dependence on and pursuit of the the Holy Spirit’s empowering and direction in their lives and ministries: they are going to the source of all spiritual blessing and strength for the support they need, whatever we as humans do or do not. Finally, and not to be overlooked, is the deep and growing love that young ministers have for the church. Like a young married couple, the journey isn’t always easy and the path isn’t always clear, but the love is real. This means that, by the grace of God, they will keep covenant with the Church and with the God who has called them to serve Him by leading His Church.  

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NOTE: Journey Pastoral Coaching exists to provide pastoral coaching to Millennial ministers.

Saddled with large student debt, just beginning to set up homes and start families, and serving in low paying first and second positions, Millennials are those who most desire but can least afford to pay for pastoral coaching.

So we offer it to them at NO COST: Our members do not PAY for coaching; they EARN it by investing in each other.

We are able to do so thanks to the faithful and generous support of individuals and churches like yours who want to see young leaders not only enter the ministry, but remain in the ministry. If you or your church would like to help Millennial ministers in 20 US states and 5 nations build strong for a lifetime in ministry, please click here to contact us by email or to support Journey monthly or with your one-time gift. Thank you.

We also invite you to click and subscribe to our twice-monthly blogs at journeypastoralcoaching.com

“In the early years when I was becoming a pastor, I needed a pastor.” 

 Eugene H. Peterson, The Pastor: A Memoir