This month, the Hartford Institute for Religion Research released a foundational report about the health of America\u2019s churches and the leaders that serve them in the post-COVID-19 moment. The survey\u2019s title, \u201cI\u2019m Exhausted All the Time,\u201d will resonate with anyone who, like me, is leading a house of worship these days. But I wish the news were even that good.<\/p>\n
The report, from Hartford\u2019s Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations project, documents the growing number of American clergy who are burned out and have considered leaving either their current congregation \u2014 44% \u2014 or the profession itself \u2014 more than half (53%). The latter figure represents an increase of 16% since 2021. The percentage of those considering leaving their current congregations, meanwhile, has more than doubled.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t the time for U.S. congregations to be facing the type of leadership transition of this magnitude. Less than half of participants in the study reported that their churches had rebounded to pre-pandemic levels of attendance or giving. Congregations are also less willing to embrace change than they were pre-pandemic, according to study participants, reversing several years of pandemic gains that saw congregations embrace change in order to survive.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n OPINION: "What makes the present moment so difficult is that, in addition to the strain of recovering from the pandemic, congregations are also contending with a larger crisis that has been approaching for decades."https:\/\/t.co\/S5IwdoXnt3<\/a><\/p>\n — Religion News Service (@RNS) January 28, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n