Moonlighting Pastors: Almost Half Have Second Jobs

1 week ago

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Nearly half of all evangelical pastors in the United States work a second job outside of the ministry, a new study by Lifeway Research found.

Forty-seven percent of evangelical pastors work more than one job, compared to 35 percent of clergy overall. The proportion of pastors with more than one vocation has increased from 28 percent in a similar 2001 survey, with the growth being especially significant among white evangelical Protestants. Among black Protestant pastors, 35 percent hold multiple jobs..

For those in Catholic and mainline Protestant groups who do take on additional responsibilities, it’s more often in the form of leading multiple congregations rather than taking non-religious employment. The study found that 19 percent of clergy from these groups now serve more than one congregation, up from 12 percent in 2001. The trend was most noticeable among:

Mainline Protestants (24 percent);
Catholics (22 percent); and
Black Protestants (21 percent).

Two-thirds of clergy overall indicated they entered ministry after working in another field. This figure was highest among black Protestant pastors at 89 percent. Evangelicals and mainline Protestants reported similar numbers, with 64 percent and 62 percent, respectively, having had previous careers outside of ministry.

READ: Fewer pastors cite burnout for leaving

Sixty percent of senior Protestant pastors worked 10 years or less in a non-ministry field before entering the clergy. Seventy percent of senior pastors began their ministry careers in other roles, with 44 percent starting as youth or student ministers and 42 percent as assistant or associate pastors. Smaller numbers began as children’s ministers (16 percent) or held other ministry positions (18 percent), and 30 percent reported no previous ministry experience before assuming their current role.

The survey also revealed that only one in four U.S. clergy were members of the church they now lead. This figure was slightly higher among black Protestants (37 percent) and evangelicals (27 percent) but remained rare among Catholics (3 percent) and mainline Protestants (5 percent). Eight in 10 pastors have at least a bachelor’s degree, and 59 percent hold a graduate degree, with nearly 48 percent earning a Master of Divinity or an equivalent professional degree.

–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice