Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding (Jeremiah 3:15 NIV).
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is blessed to have amazing pastors, about 32,000 around the world: pastors who evangelize, pastors who nurture, pastors who administer, pastors who are great preachers, pastors who excel at counseling troubled members. But who are the people behind the numbers?
In 2023, the Global Pastor Survey asked pastors from every Division about their lives and their ministries, and we will be assessing their responses to get a picture of what kind of people they are and what their lives look like.
Age Group
Participants in the survey were asked what age group they were in. More than 80% of pastors were between the ages of 30 and 60: 30.5% were 30–39, 31.5% were 40–49, and 21.5% were 50–59. Only 0.1% were under 20; 9.1% were 20–29; 6.9% were 60–69; and 0.4% were 70–80. None of the pastors surveyed was older than 80 years.
The Inter-American Division had the highest percentage (49.9%) of pastors 40 years of age or younger. The Division with the lowest number of pastors 40 years of age or younger was the Northern Asia-Pacific Division, with 22.3%. The highest number of pastors over 60 years old were found in the North American Division, with 24.4%; and the lowest was the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, with only 3.4% over 60.
Years in Paid Ministry
When asked how many years the pastors had been in some type of paid ministry, 8.9% answered a year or less; 15.7% had served for 2–4 years; 22.2%, for 5–9 years; 16.9%, for 10–14 years; 12%, for 15–19 years; 16.7%, for 20–29 years; 6.5%, for 30–39 years; and 1.2%, for 40 or more years.
The highest percentage of pastors who had served for less than five years was in the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, with 32.2%; the lowest was in the Northern Asia-Pacific Division, with 10.8%. Pastors who had served for 20 years or more were found most often in the Euro-Asia Division, at 51.7%; and least often in the West-Central Africa Division, at 17.7%
Pastoral Status
Pastors were asked what their pastoral status was. More than half, 57.4%, were ordained; 21.2% were licensed; 4.5% were commissioned; 9.7% were interns; 1.6% were volunteers; and 5.7% were “other.”
The Northern Asia-Pacific Division had the highest percentage of ordained pastors, at 79.9%. The Southern Asia Division had the lowest, at 36%, but had the highest percentage of interns/volunteers/other, at 34.5%. The South Pacific Division had the lowest percentage of interns/volunteers/other, at 3%.
Highest Level of Education Completed
Pastors were asked what the highest level of education they had completed was. More than half, 56.6%, had completed at least a Bachelor’s degree. Less than half of one percent, 0.4%, had only completed primary school; 3.5% had finished secondary school; 1.8% had a trade certificate or license; 6.7% had an Associate’s degree; 27.8% had a Master’s degree; and 3.1% had a doctoral degree of some kind.
The Southern Asia Division had the highest percentage of pastors who had completed an Associate’s degree or less, while the Northern Asia-Pacific Division had the lowest percentage, at 3.1%. The East-Central Africa Division had the greatest number of pastors with Bachelor’s degrees, at 65%, but the least number of Master’s degrees or higher, at 15.9%. The North American Division had the lowest number of pastors with Bachelor’s degrees, at 21.7%, but the highest number of Master’s degrees or higher, at 74.5%.
Gender
When asked about their gender, 91.6% of pastors answered that they were male, while 8.4% answered they were female.
The South American Division had the highest percentage of male pastors, at 99.6%, and lowest of female, at 0.04%. In contrast, the Inter-European Division had the lowest percentage of male pastors, at 73.7% and the highest percentage of female, at 26.3%.
Marital Status
When asked about their marital status, 91.4% of pastors were married, 6.3% were single, 0.6% were divorced but not remarried, 0.9% were divorced and remarried, 0.4% were widowed, and 0.4% were “other.”
The Euro-Asia Division had the highest percentage of married pastors, at 95.6%. The Southern Asia-Pacific Division had the lowest percentage, at 83.9%, but had the highest percentage of single pastors at 14.6%. The Euro-Asia Division and South American Division had the lowest rate of single pastors at 3.1% each. The North American Division had the highest rate of divorced and remarried pastors, at 3%, while the Southern Asia-Pacific Division had the lowest, at 0.03%. The North American and Trans-European Divisions both had 1.6% of their pastors who were divorced, but not remarried, and the Northern Asia-Pacific Division had none. In the Southern Asia Division, 1.2% of pastors were widowed, compared to the Euro-Asia and Trans-European Divisions, which had none.
The overall picture we have of Seventh-day Adventist pastors around the world right now is that they are overwhelmingly male (91.6%) and married (91.4%), mainly aged 30–60 (83.3%), have a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree (84.4%), are ordained or licensed (78.6%), and have served in the ministry between 2 and 40 years (90%).
Future posts will explore pastors’ responsibilities and challenges in both their work and personal relationships. In the meantime, will you join us in praying for all our pastors, wherever they are ministering around the world, asking for the Lord to strengthen and encourage them in their soul-winning and keeping work?
You can access 2023 Global Adventist Pastor Surveys.
Created in collaboration with the Institute of Church Ministry.
Published by ASTR on 4/22/2025.