SBU Libraries: Church Statistics: Vocational Ministers

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Assessing the Clergy Supply in the 21st Century
A 2004 study of the supply and demand for ministers in U.S. churches.
Experiences of Protestant Ministers Who Left Local Church Ministry
A 2003 paper analyzing the results of a survey of why pastors leave the ministry.
Factors Shaping Clergy Careers: A Wakeup Call for Protestant Denominations and Pastors
A 2005 study on the way clergy are educated, deployed, supported and rewarded and how these factors effect their career effectiveness.
First- and Second-Career Clergy: Some Comparisons and Questions
A study of vocational ministers who enter the ministry as their first career versus those who enter later in life.
How Much Should We Pay the Pastor?: A Fresh Look at Clergy Salaries in the 21st Century
A 2003 study of the average salaries of ministers in U.S. churches with regard to congregation size and how the pay gap between small and large churches is a challenge to prophetic leadership.
What do clergy do all week?
A study of how many hours ministers spend on different tasks each week. The study groups ministers by age, denomination, church size, and the number of co-pastors.
What Do Lay People Want in Pastors? Answers from Lay Search Committee Chairs and Regional Judicatory Leaders
A 2003 study that surveyed examined local church congregations and the criteria that determined who they select as their pastors.

How Do Pastors Practice Leadership?
A survey of the leadership styles used by church leaders and how pastors make decisions in relation to lay leaders.
Those Preacher's Kids!
A study of the children of vocational ministers regarding their religious development and their choices on whether to pursue vocational ministry.

Women's Path Into Ministry: Six Major Studies
A 2002 review of 6 studies of women in ministry over the course of 1982 to 1998. The studies discuss a variety of issues, such as seminary and ordination, job placement, work environments, ministry styles, and the impact of female ministers.

Asian American Religious Leadership Today: A Preliminary Inquiry
A 2005 study of the characteristics of Asian-American church leaders. Includes a comparison of first- and second-generation immigrants and issues encountered by female Asian-American ministers.
River of Struggle, River of Freedom: Trends among Black Churches and Black Pastoral Leadership
A 2006 study and profile of African-American congregations and ministers.
Strengthening Hispanic Ministries Across Denominations: A Call to Action
A 2005 study that surveys the landscape of leadership within Latino churches.

The Ministry and the Message: What Americans See and Read About Their Leaders
A 2003 study of how ministers are portrayed in the media, with attention particularly to how that changed in the wake of September 11, 2001.