One United Methodist pastor tells a church member who was formerly a Baptist, “It’s okay! I was raised a Baptist too!” How common is it for pastors to grow up in a different denomination or faith tradition than the church where they preach each Sunday? More common than you might think.
Protestant pastors are switchers. Almost all Catholic priests (96%) were raised as Catholics. However, the picture is quite different among Protestants:
Some Presbyterian pastors have switched, too. The majority of Presbyterian pastors (57%) grew up Presbyterian, yet four in ten (43%) are switchers. Associate pastors were slightly more likely to grow up Presbyterian (63%). Fewer Presbyterian pastors than pastors in other mainline denominations have switched.
More second-career than first-career Presbyterian pastors have switched:
Worshipers are switching too! We cannot directly compare worshipers’ switching patterns over their lifetime. However, we can look at new people who began attending a congregation in the previous five-year period. These statistics reflect recent switching behavior. Overall, about one in four new worshipers (22%) say they now attend a different “brand” of congregation than the one where they attended previously.[1]
Making a switching stew. Imagine a typical congregation where 22 percent of worshipers grew up in or transferred their membership from a church in another denomination. Now imagine that the pastor of this congregation also has a church background that differs from the congregation’s affiliation. This diversity makes quite a stew, flavored with spicy opinions! Switchers—both pastors and worshipers—bring numerous expectations to their new congregation. They might differ in their definitions of good leadership and effective ministry. Having arrived from different paths, they may want to go in several directions simultaneously. This significant trend makes church leadership more difficult than ever.
[1] New people are those attending the congregation for five years or less.