We recently compiled results from a two-phase survey project about pastors who provide pastoral care services to ministers and their families. The first phase of the study queried executive presbyters about the roles of pastors-to- ministers in their presbyteries and asked them to identify the individual serving in that role in their presbyteries. The second phase of the study asked the pastors-to-ministers identified in phase one about the mission and scope of their job duties. The results provide an inside look at various aspects of pastor-to-minister ministry across the denomination.
Ninety presbyteries (out of the 127 presbyteries responding to the survey) have an individual who provides pastoral care to ministers. Most of the individuals providing pastoral care in these presbyteries (80%) serve as full-time employees (usually with additional responsibilities), and the majority (91%) are paid. Ninety-two percent serve on presbytery staff. Most (86%) serve in a permanent position. The majority (77%) indicate that the formal title of the individual providing pastoral care as one of many position responsibilities is Executive Presbyter or Presbytery Executive. The term "pastor-to-minister" is used in only 6% of the presbyteries. Two-thirds of the positions that include a pastor-to-minister responsibility (66%) have been in existence for five years or more. A majority of the individuals serving in those positions (60%) have done so for three or more years. Almost two-thirds (65%) of the pastors-to-ministers have a formal position description.
In the phase two survey, large majorities of pastors-to-ministers reported that they spend at least some of their time working with ministers in areas such as vocational struggle, grief, community building among pastors, promoting clergy wellness and self-care, and sickness (see table).
| Areas of Focus | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Vocational Struggle | 95% |
| Grief | 92% |
| Community Building Among Pastors | 92% |
| Promoting Clergy Wellness and Self-Care | 90% |
| Sickness | 88% |
| Faith | 88% |
| Transition Care for New Ministers | 85% |
| Promoting Continuing Education | 78% |
| Marriage and Family | 77% |
| Conflict Intervention | 75% |
| Financial Troubles | 74% |
| Pastoral Care to Spouses of Ministers | 71% |
| Mental Health | 67% |
| Mentoring | 64% |
| Retreat Development | 59% |
| Spiritual Direction | 50% |
| Pastoral Care to Families of Minister | 49% |
| Addiction | 37% |
| Therapeutic Pastoral Counseling | 15% |
| Other | 20% |
The five areas where large minorities of pastors-to-ministers spend the preponderance of their time are promoting clergy wellness and self-care (40%), vocational struggle (40%), community building among ministers (37%), transitional care for new ministers (24%), and mentoring (21%).
The five areas where large minorities of pastors-to-ministers believe they have the most expertise are conflict intervention (46%), community building with ministers (30%), grief (27%), sickness (24%), and vocational struggle and promoting clergy wellness and self-care (tied at 22%).
Large minorities of pastors-to-ministers experience the most frustration when working with ministers in areas such as financial troubles (34%), community building among pastors (31%), promoting clergy wellness and self-care (26%), conflict intervention (26%), marriage and family issues (20%), and pastoral care to families of ministers (20%).
Half of the pastors-to-ministers (50%) experience the most concern for ministers they counsel in the area of promoting clergy wellness and self-care, along with large minorities experiencing concern in the areas of vocational struggle (34%), conflict intervention (26%), financial troubles (24%), community building among ministers (18%), and spiritual direction (18%). As a result of this, large minorities feel they most need professional development in the areas of spiritual direction (33%), financial troubles (30%), promoting clergy wellness and self-care (24%), vocational struggle (21%), mental health (18%), and conflict intervention (18%).
As a result of this research effort, the Presbytery Pastoral Care Network will hold a national gathering of pastors-to- ministers at the St. Raphaela Center in Haverford, Pennsylvania, with additional activities in Center City in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 26-28, 2000. This event will be sponsored in part by grants from the Board of Pensions and the National Ministries Division of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The planning team for the conference includes Edith Gause (Interim Executive Presbyter, Tropical Florida Presbytery), Roger Harp (Executive Presbyter, Heartland Presbytery), David Meerse (Pastoral Presbyter, Lake Erie Presbytery), Wayne Purintun (Executive Presbyter, Minnesota Valleys Presbytery), Ronald Rosenau (Pastor to Ministers and Their Families, Presbytery of Philadelphia), and Jean Snyder (Administrative Coordinator, Cincinnati Presbytery). For more information, please contact Ronald Rosenau at (610) 722-0661.
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