In 2015 the Ministries Committee commissioned a survey of all United Reformed Church ministers to seek a better understanding of the pressure and stress experienced by serving ministers.
An invitation to participate in the survey was sent to all ministers who had an identifiable role, whether they were in stipendiary or non-stipendiary service, and whether or not their ministry was exercised under the direct oversight of the United Reformed Church or for another body, e.g. chaplaincy. Approximately 625 invitations were sent out and 62% responded.
The survey and analysis was conducted by Dr Robert Wilcox and colleagues at InterHealth and was undertaken during the month of February. The data was collected and examined in a manner which maintained the anonymity of the participants and a presentation of the statistically significant results was made to synod moderators and a number of General Assembly appointed staff in May.
On this page you will find links to the following documents:
- The one page summary report
- A pdf version of the presentation given to the synod moderators and others
- A summary of the statistically significant outcomes
- A report on the demography of the respondents
- Finding Support in Ministry is a brief document indicating some of the ways and places in which ministers can receive additional support in their ministerial calling.
Please note that the reports use abbreviations that may not be immediately obvious to all readers. These include:
SSM Self-Supporting Ministry This is the term used by the report writers to refer to ministers in non-stipendiary service.
HFD House for Duty A relatively rare form of ministry within the United Reformed Church but more common within the Church of England.
