How Protestant Pastors Spend Their Time

1. How Protestant Pastors Spend Their Time

2. Methodology • The telephone survey of Protestant pastors was conducted October 13-29, 2008 • The calling list was randomly drawn from a list of all Protestant churches. Up to six calls were made to reach a sampled phone number • Each interview was conducted with the senior pastor, minister or priest of the church called • Responses were weighted to reflect the geographic distribution of Protestant churches

3. Methodology • The completed sample is 1,002 phone interviews • The sample provides 95% confidence that the sampling error does not exceed +3.1% • Margins of error are higher in sub-groups

4. Sixty-five percent of Pastors say they work fifty or more hours a week as Pastor of their church Q28. In a typical week, how many hours in total do you work as pastor of your church?

5. Median Mean A typical pastor works 50 hours a week as pastor of their church In a typical week, how many hours in total do you work as pastor of your church

6. The number of hours pastors work varies by their role and age • Part-time pastors who do not have non-ministerial employment work fewer hours: 75% work less than 40 hours as pastor • Bi-vocational pastors who earn income from both church and non-ministerial employment work fewer hours as pastor: 63% work less than 40 hours as pastor • Pastors aged sixty-five and older are less likely to work fifty or more hours a week as Pastor of their church: 15% work 50-59 hours a week and another 15% work 60-69 hours a week

7. Half of Pastors say they spend between five and fourteen hours a week in sermon preparation Pastors aged sixty-five and older are more likely to spend five to nine hours a week in sermon preparation. Thirty percent said they do so. Q29. In a typical week, how many hours do you spend in sermon preparation?

8. 30% of Evangelical Pastors said they spend 20 or more hours a week in sermon preparation while only 20% of Mainline Pastors spend the same number of hours in sermon preparation Q29. In a typical week, how many hours do you spend in sermon preparation?

9. Fifty-two percent of Pastors said they spend between one and six hours a week in prayer Pastors aged sixty-five and older are more likely to spend thirteen or more hours a week in prayer. Twenty-three percent said they pray thirteen hours a week or more. Q30. In a typical week, how many hours do you spend in prayer?

10. Almost one-quarter of pastors say they spend more than five hours a week counseling others Pastors aged sixty-five and older are much more likely to spend zero hours a week counseling others. Twenty percent said they spend zero hours a week counseling others. Q31. In a typical week, how many hours do you spend in counseling others?

11. More than two-thirds of Pastors say they spend one to five hours a week in meetings for church Pastors aged sixty-five and older are more likely to spend one hour or less a week in meetings for church. Twenty-four percent said they spend one hour or less a week in meetings for church. Pastors aged 30-49 are more likely to spend four to five hours a week in meetings than the total. Thirty percent of Pastors in this age group said they do so. Q32. In a typical week, how many hours do you spend in meetings for church?

12. Almost half of Evangelical Pastors say they spend three or less hours a week in meetings for church while only 38% of Mainline Pastors spend the same Q32. In a typical week, how many hours do you spend in meetings for church?

13. While half of Pastors said they spend two to six hours a week handling email and other electronic correspondence, 13% said they spend zero hours a week doing so Pastors aged sixty-five and older are much more likely to spend zero hours a week handling email and other electronic correspondence. Forty-one percent said they spend zero hours a week on this task. Q33. In a typical week, how many hours do you spend handling email and other electronic correspondence?

14. 60% of Pastors spend five or less hours a week making hospital, home, or witnessing visits Pastors aged sixty-five and older are less likely than the total to spend four to five hours a week making hospital, home, or witnessing visits. Only seventeen percent said they make visits for four to five hours a week. Pastors between 30 and 49 years of age are less likely to spend six to ten hours a week making visits. Twenty-two percent of Pastors in this age range spend six to ten hours a week in visitation versus twenty-eight percent of the total. Q34. In a typical week, how many hours do you spend in making hospital, home, or witnessing visits?

15. 52% of Pastors said they spend 2 to 5 hours a week in personal devotions not related to preparing to teach Q35. In a typical week, how many hours do you spend in personal devotions not related to preparing to teach?

16. 39% of Evangelical pastors say they spend less than four hours a week in personal devotions not related to preparing to teach compared to 47% of Mainline pastors Q35. In a typical week, how many hours do you spend in personal devotions not related to preparing to teach?

17. Almost one-third of Pastors say they spend twenty to twenty-nine hours a week with their family Pastors aged sixty-five and older are more likely to spend forty or more hours a week with their family. Twenty-seven percent indicated they spend 40 or more hours a week with their family. Q36. In a typical week, how many hours do you spend with your family?

18. Thirteen percent of Pastors said they spend fifteen or more hours a week watching TV Q37. In a typical week, how many hours do you spend watching TV?

19. Median Mean Weekly Hours Pastors Spend on Each Activity Note: Each question was asked independently; some responses could overlap In a typical week, how many hours do you spend …

20. How Protestant Pastors Spend Their Time