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. A typical pastor works 50 hours a week as pastor of their church
Median
Mean
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 hours a week and another 15% work 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 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 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 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 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. Weekly Hours Pastors Spend on Each Activity
Median
Mean
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