Why “Pastor Care” is so important …

When we are finally able to fully launch Scott Free Clinic (we’re still in partial-launch phase), there are six core services we will offer, one of which is “Pastor Care.”

Although our primary service will be our comprehensive Christian clinical counseling, Pastor Care is a vital inclusion that we already have great demand for, both nationally and internationally.

Simply put, “Pastor Care” is clinical counseling specifically for those who are in vocational or bi-vocational ministry. Being a pastor myself for more than 30 years, I understand the unique challenges of living out that calling, and can mix with that experience decades of clinical experience to help church leaders change their lives and ministries. Take a look at just how tough it is to be a minister:

• • Each year 7,000 churches close!
  • Over 1,700 pastors left the ministry every month last year.
  • Over 1,300 pastors were terminated by the local church each month, many without cause.
  • 50% of ministers starting out will not last 5 years.
  • 90% of pastors report working between 55 to 75 hours per week.
  • 80% believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families. Many pastor’s children do not attend church now because of what the church has done to their parents.
  • 95% of pastors do not regularly pray with their spouses.
  • 33% state being in ministry is an outright hazard to their family.
  • 75% report significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry.
  • 90% feel they are inadequately trained to cope with the ministry demands.
  • 80% of pastors and 84% of their spouses feel unqualified and discouraged in their role of pastors.
  • 90% of pastors said ministry was completely different than what they thought it would be like before they entered the ministry.
  • 50% feel unable to meet the demands of the job.
  • 70% of pastors constantly fight depression.
  • 70% say they have a lower self-image now than when they first started.
  • 70% do not have someone they consider a close friend.
  • 40% report serious conflict with a parishioner at least once a month.
  • 33% confess having been involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with someone in the church.
  • 50% of pastors feel so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.
  • 70% of pastors feel grossly underpaid.
  • 1 out of every 10 ministers will actually retire as a minister in some form.
  • 94% of clergy families feel the pressures of the pastor’s ministry.
  • 80% of spouses feel the pastor is overworked.
  • 80% of spouses feel left out and under appreciated by church members.
  • 80% of pastors’ spouses wish their spouse would choose a different profession.
  • 66% of church members expect a minister and family to live at a higher moral standard than themselves.
  • 4,000 new churches begin each year and 7,000 churches close.
  • Over 3,500 people a day left the church last year.
  • Many denominations report an “empty pulpit crisis.” They cannot find ministers willing to fill positions.
  • Moral values of a Christian in the USA is no different than those who consider themselves as non-Christians.
  • The average American will tell 23 lies a day.
  • The profession of “Pastor” is near the bottom of a survey of the most-respected professions, just above “car salesman.”
  • The number one reason pastors leave the ministry — Church people are not willing to go the same direction and goal of the pastor. Pastors believe God wants them to go in one direction but the people are not willing to follow or change.

(Statistics provided by The Fuller Institute, George Barna, and Pastoral Care Inc.)

Those who are serving in vocational or bi-vocational ministry desperately NEED a clinical care outlet designed specifically to serve their needs. We can and will (and already do in a limited way) offer that needed service. But to be able to make such a critical service fully available to pastors, we need your help. We need people, churches, and businesses who see the need for this crucial service, as well as the others we will provide (you can learn more about our menu of service by clicking here), to help support our efforts by becoming a Care Partner.

Would you prayerfully consider becoming a Care Partner and making a donation to this ministry TODAY? All donations are tax deductible, and you can make a donation online or learn from our website the different ways you can make a donation by clicking here.

Let’s work together to serve those in ministry who pour out their lives in service to God … and us!

Scotty