Did you know that 50 percent of pastors in the United States make less than $50,000 and many don’t receive health insurance, retirement or employee benefits? In addition, more than 40 percent of full-time pastors have seriously contemplated quitting ministry due to stress, isolation and political polarization within their congregations. The strain on pastors is enormous, and the health of their churches is at stake.

The generous financial support provided to the National Association of Evangelicals has helped us equip, encourage and lift up pastors.

For the past nine years, the National Association of Evangelicals has led the way in tackling this critical need through our Financial Health initiative, offering long-term solutions to address the economic challenges facing pastors through financial literacy and management skills. A featured element of the program is the Bless Your Pastor campaign, which equips congregations with training and resources to better support their pastors.

Members of one North Carolina church shared the following:

“The NAE’s thoughtful Bless Your Pastor program was providential
for our church. This is an unprecedented time for churches and
especially for senior pastors. Many people don’t truly understand
the stress pastors are facing. The Bless Your Pastor materials
helped us provide needed encouragement to help our pastors
keep going.”

As an interdenominational organization, the NAE is uniquely positioned to cross denominational lines to bless pastors and serve churches around the country. Since the launch of NAE Financial Health, 20 NAE member denominations and 3,000 churches have participated. Indeed, the reach and impact of this initiative has been remarkable. More than 5,000 people were impacted by over 75 keynote messages, seminars and pastor appreciation events, and 2,664 pastors completed financial literacy and generosity courses offered by the program. Beyond that, NAE Financial Health content has reached over 5 million people through 100+ TV and radio interviews and articles.

In other words, gifts to the NAE are leveraged for broad impact.

One special feature of the Bless Your Pastor campaign is the “50 Ways to Bless Your Pastor and Staff” flyer, which offers churches creative and practical ideas for showing appreciation. Since the campaign launched in 2019, more than 250,000 flyers have been distributed, providing tangible and meaningful support to 6,000+ pastors and church staff members. As a result of this resource, over $2 million in appreciation offerings was raised by congregations!