Does it matter how much a pastor preaches?

Posted on June 13, 2025 
Filed under Resources, Theology

“The latest edition of the ACR includes the results of a survey we conducted in order to investigate how frequently senior ministers are preaching in relation to the number of full-time staff and adult church attendance.

On the whole, there is a negative correlation between the number of full-time staff and the amount a pastor preaches.

On average, a minister serving as the only full-time staff member of a church (35% of responders) preaches 4.3 weeks out of 5. For those serving in a staff team of two full-time equivalents (50% of responders), that average drops to 3.5 weeks out of 5.

What is notable, however, is that this trend flattens out as the size of the staff team increases, stabilising at about 3 weeks out of 5. For a staff team of three (26% of responders), the average is 3.2 weeks out of 5. For a staff team of four (13% of responders), the average is 3 weeks out of 5. For a staff team of five or more (27% of responders), the average slightly increases back up to 3.1 weeks of out 5. This indicates that pastors have a general preference to preach no less than 3 in every 5 weeks.

This, however, prompts the question: Does it matter how much a pastor preaches? Or more specifically, does it matter to God how much a pastor preaches? …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Charles Cleworth explores the question.