Assessment of Levels of Stress and Burnout among Redeemed Christian Church of God Pastors in Ilorin, Nigeria
Keywords:
rovince, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Stress, Burnout, PastorsAbstract
The mission and vision of the Redeemed Christian Church of God to have a member of the church in every family of all nations and to plant a church within five minutes walking distance in every city and town puts a lot of pressure on pastors of the church. The church is increasing in number by the day but the “labourers,” that is pastors, are not enough. Apart from the fact that majority of the pastors are on part time basis, they become overstretched and end up being stressed and burn out while serving the church. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to investigate the impact of stress and burnout on the pastoral work of the ministers of the gospel. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. A sample of 82 out of a population of 649 Pastors was used for the study using simple random sampling method. A researcher-designed questionnaire was used for data collection. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation. Results of the study showed that the pastors experienced stress as a result of lack of financial resources, doing so many things at the same time, and church politics. It was also revealed that the pastors experienced considerable fatigue and burnout. The study therefore, recommended that the pastors should be encouraged to take time off, go on vacation and seek support when and where necessary.
Downloads
References
Agyapong, V. I. O., & Owusu-Ansah, W. A. (2012). Work life balance among part-time MBA students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology School of Business in Ghana. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(13), 14-21.
Anyetey, J. (2018). Sources of stress and its management strategies among ministers of the gospel in Cape Coast Metropolis. Unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Cape Coast).
Bloona, R. (2007). Coping with stress in a changing world. New York: MCGraw- Hill.
Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Sanz-Vergel, A. I. (2014). Burnout and work engagement: The JD-R approach. Annual Review of Organisational Psychology and Organisational Behaviour, 1, 389-411.
Bonsu, S. (2016). Lived experiences of Pentecostal clergy in Ghana: Perceptions of work-life balance on families and communities. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Texas Woman’s University.
Bukoye, R. O. (2017). Academic stress and drug abuse factors inhibiting psychological well-being among undergraduates: Its implications. European Scientific Journal, 13,98), 60-74.
Burnette, C. M. (2016). Burnout among pastors in local church ministry in relation to pastor, congregation member, and church organizational outcomes. Unpublished Doctoral
dissertation. Clemson University.
Chen, F. (2013). A brief comment on the system to support pastors. Tian Feng, 6, 32-33.
Fickel, J. (2019). Burnout in pastors and church leadership. Retrieved from https://m1psychology.com/burnout-in-pastors-and-church- leadership/
Fugar, F. D. (2007). Job satisfaction as a function of demographic variables: An examination
of the relationship among clergy. Journal of Science and Technology (Ghana), 27(3), 184-195.
Gee, G. C., Chen, J., Spenser, M. S., See, S., Kuester, O., & Tran, D. (2006). Social support as a buffer for perceived unfair treatment among Filipino American: Differences
between San Francisco and Honolulu. American Journal of Public Health, 96(40, 677-684.
Halbesleben, J. R. B., & Demerouti, E. (2005). The construct validity of an alternative measure of burnout: Investigating the English translation of the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory. Work and Stress, 19, 208-220.
Jackson-Jordan, E. A. (2013). Clergy burnout and resilience: A review of the literature. Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling, 67(1), 1-5.
Joiner, A. V. (2020). An abstract on perception of burnout among black pastors in small churches: A phenomenological study (unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Liang, O. (2009). Clergy stress: Seventh-day Adventist pastor in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. (Unpublished Doctoral, Loma Linda University.
Tomic, W., Tomic, D. M., & Evers, W. J. G. (2004). A question of burnout among Reformed church ministers in the Netherlands. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 7, 225-247.
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2008). Early predictors of job burnout and engagement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(3), 498-512.
Mugenda, O. and Mugenda, G. (2003). Research Methods: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. Acts, Nairobi, Kenya.
Munali, J. (2005). Stress and individual performance of workers in Hotels at the Kenya Coast. Andra Pradesh Open University, Hyderabad. India.
Ng'eno, G. (2007). Cause of Burn out among Primary Teachers within Kericho County, Kenya: Journal of Technology and Education in Nigeria, 12 (2), 9-18.
Novieto, E. E. (2013). Women leaders in Ghanaian Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches.(Doctoral dissertation, University of Ghana, Legon).
Nortey, P. N. (2019). Psychosocial correlates of psychological wellbeing among clergy of the Presbyterian Church and the Church of Pentecost in Accra. [Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Ghana, Legon].
Orodho, A. (2013). Essentials of educational and social science research methods. Masola Publishers, Nairobi.
Schaufeli, W. B., & Bakker, A. B. (2004). Job demands, job resources, and their relationship
with burnout and engagement: A multi-sample study. Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 25, 293-315.
Wang, T. (2007). The role of gender the workplace in stress. Journal of Health Education, 64.
Welford, A. (2006). Stress and performance ergonometric. 16 (5) 567-580.
London, Jr. and Wiseman, B. (2013) Pastors at risk-"Help for the pastors hope for the church" Victor Books Scripture Press Publications Inc., USA.
Wu, X. (2014). Eight crises faced by ministry staff today. Tian Feng, 3, 32-34
Wong, J. (2015). Effective therapy for clergy reporting of burnout. Unpublished Master’s
thesis, City University of Seattle, Vancouver, BC.
Yang, L. (2013). Pastors are human being too. Tian Fend, 3,30- 38. Retrieved on March, 8 from http://www.jdjcm.com/hml/20131019853375674888894.html
Zikmond, G. (2003). Business research methods, 7th Ed. Thomson Publishers, USA.
Zolli, A. (2013). Resilience. Headline Publishing Group, 338 Easton Rd. London NW. 3311, U.K.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Humanities Education
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
