Resilient Church Leadership Initiative Launched to Help Pastors in Crisis

the WCBGC has launched the Resilient Church Leadership initiative to resource, inspire, and connect pastors dealing with both internal and external pressures.

Wheaton College Billy Graham Center Launches Latest COVID-19 Resource—The Resilient Church Leadership Initiative to Help Pastors in Crisis

For the past four weeks, the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center (WCBGC) has been leading the conversation for churches dealing with the largest global crisis many of us will face in our lifetimes.

Recognizing that church leaders are facing challenges on many fronts, the WCBGC has launched the Resilient Church Leadership initiative to resource, inspire, and connect pastors dealing with both internal pressures like burnout and mental stability and external pressures such as moving their church online, caring for their congregations, and ministering well in a time of crisis.

The initiative—a partnership of the WCBGC, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the National Christian Foundation-South Florida, and the Church United initiative—continues the conversation began in December 2019 with the GC2 Summit on Facing Hard Truths & Challenges of Pastoral Ministry.

Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, Lifeway Research revealed that 23 percent of pastors acknowledge they have personally struggled with a mental illness and 49 say they rarely or never speak to their congregation about mental illness. Another Lifeway Research study of pastors concluded that 84 percent say they’re on call 24 hours a day and 54 percent find the role of pastor frequently overwhelming. Add the current crisis and the massive logistical, relational, and financial pressures our churches are facing and we have a significant problem.

“I don’t think we can understate how important it is for church leaders to take care of themselves during this crisis,” said Dr. Ed Stetzer, Executive ...