And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11–12 NKJV).
Most of us occasionally ask ourselves whether we are in the right career: whether we have made the right choice of job or profession. Pastors are no exception, with the added question of whether they were called by God to be pastors.
In 2013, and again in 2023, pastors participated in the Global Adventist Pastor Survey (GAPS) about how they “fit” their profession. In 2013, they were asked to what extent they knew that God had called them to be a pastor, how much they felt that being a pastor seemed to fit their gifts and talents, and how much they enjoyed being a pastor. In the 2023 survey, pastors were also asked how much they felt that they were in the place that God had called them to be, how much of their work as a church pastor helped them fulfil their own call of God to full-time ministry, and how much they served the mission of the Church through their work.
In both surveys, pastors were asked how much they agreed with this statement: “I know that God called me to be a pastor.” In 2013, 89.8% strongly agreed, 6% somewhat agreed, 1.4% were uncertain, 0.5% somewhat disagreed, and 2.3% strongly disagreed. Figures from 2023 were similar to 2013; 90.5% strongly agreed with the statement, slightly up from 2013. The number who agreed more than disagreed was slightly down at 5%; 1.2% didn’t know, 0.5% disagreed more than agreed, and 2.8% strongly disagreed.
GAPS 2013 and 2023: I know that God called me to be a pastor
When asked in 2013 whether they agreed that “being a pastor seems to fit my gifts and talents,” 63.1% strongly agreed, 27.9% somewhat agreed (making a total of 91% positive), 4.4% were uncertain, 2.6% somewhat disagreed, and 2% strongly disagreed. In 2023, the percentage of those who strongly agreed had significantly increased to 76.5%, while those who agreed more than disagreed decreased to 17.4% (making a total of 93.9% positive). The percentage of those who didn’t know decreased to 1.8%, while those who disagreed more than agreed decreased slightly to 2.1%, and those who strongly disagreed increased slightly to 2.2%.
GAPS 2013 and 2023: Being a pastor seems to fit my gifts and talents
Pastors were asked whether they enjoyed being a pastor. In 2013, 95% answered positively (81.6% strongly agreed and 13.4% somewhat agreed), 2.1% were uncertain, 1.1% somewhat disagreed, and 1.8% strongly disagreed. In 2023, fewer pastors strongly agreed that they enjoyed being a pastor at 79%, while slightly more agreed more than disagreed at 14.2% (making a total positive of 92.3%). Fewer pastors didn’t know at 0.9%, but more disagreed more than agreed at 2.7%, and more strongly disagreed at 3.3%. This trend indicates that fewer SDA pastors enjoy their jobs than in 2013.
GAPS 2013 and 2023: I enjoy being a pastor
In 2023, new questions were added to the Global Adventist Pastor Survey. [1] The first was this: “How much of your work as a church pastor helps you fulfil your own call of God to full-time ministry?” Nearly 90% of pastors answered positively; 48.4% said “nearly everything I do” and 40% answered “most things I do.” Nearly 10% (9.7%) said that some of the things they did helped fulfil their call from God to ministry, while 1.6% said that few of the things they did fulfilled their call, and only 0.3% said none of them did.
GAPS 2023: How much of your work as a church pastor helps you fulfil your own call of God to full-time ministry?
When asked in 2023 whether they agreed that their work served the mission of the Church, more than 95% agreed (78.7% strongly agreed and 16.6% agreed more than disagreed). Of the rest, 0.9% didn’t know, 1.9% disagreed more than agreed, and 1.9% strongly disagreed.
GAPS 2023: I serve the mission of the Church through my work
Finally, pastors were asked how much they agreed with this statement: “I feel that I am in the place that God has called me to.” More than 95% responded positively (83.8% strongly agreed and 11.7% agreed more than disagreed), 1.4% didn’t know, 1.3% disagreed more than agreed, and 1.8% strongly disagreed.
GAPS 2023: I feel that I am in the place that God has called me to
Overall, the responses of pastors in both surveys were very positive. Most Adventist pastors clearly believe that they were called to the ministry, that they are currently serving where God wants them to be, and that their work serves the mission of the Church. The one area where responses were somewhat concerning was when asked whether they enjoyed being a pastor, particularly when compared to the responses 10 years before. Given the positive answers to the other questions, the lower rates of agreement are likely to be related more to the nitty gritty of the job itself (e.g., admin, long hours, interpersonal relations, lack of support), rather than concerns about the role of their ministry itself.
The Adventist pastor is crucial to spreading the gospel to the world and the care and nurture of existing members. Praise God that so many of them recognize and celebrate the parts they play in the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
You can access the 2013 and 2023 Global Adventist Pastor Surveys.
Created in collaboration with the Institute of Church Ministry.
Published by ASTR on 2/25/2025.
[1] Mclver, Robert. 2013 Global Adventist Pastors’ Survey; Accessed February 4, 2025. https://www.adventistresearch.info/document/2023-global-adventist-pastors-survey/?searchsite=www.adventistresearch.info&ref=on-site-search&searchterm=Global+Adventist+Pastor+Survey