What Church Leaders Say They Need Most Right Now in 2025
Each week the Rukes Group engages in conversations with church leaders from across the country. In those conversation we hear themes about challenges the leaders are facing – some of them new, some of them not so new, but all of them are important.
From candidates searching for a new role we hear, “We want work life balance in a healthy church that cares deeply about the mission God has called them to.”
From the leadership of churches who are hiring new staff we hear, “We want staff who can manage their life in such a way to have a healthy work life balance and who will commit to bringing their best to our church and the mission God has given us.
Basically, both want the same thing. But – the reality is shifting cultural dynamics to post-COVID realities and increasing ministry fatigue, leaders are carrying a lot. After working with church teams across various settings, five consistent areas emerge where leaders need the most support.
If these areas look familiar – pick something and tackle it! Don’t look at this list as a laundry list of problems – but rather use it as an evaluation tool. Consider having your team rate each of these five areas on a 1 – 10 scale to get an understanding on how effective they perceive your church is in 2025.
1. Leadership Development & Volunteer Engagement
Pain Point: Church leaders often face the frustrating challenge of not having enough people to carry the ministry load. The problem isn't just about numbers—it's about having the right people in the right roles, equipped and inspired to serve. Many leaders are stretched thin because there is no structured process for identifying, training, and releasing others into leadership.
Support Needed:
Clear leadership pipelines to help identify and raise up new leaders
Coaching and mentoring systems that empower staff and lay leaders
Volunteer onboarding and discipleship tools to prepare people for meaningful ministry involvement
Potential Solutions:
Implement a leadership development track that begins with spiritual formation and progresses through hands-on leadership training. Include mentoring relationships and ministry apprenticeships to create a strong bench of future leaders.
Hold staff accountable to developing volunteers. This should be a measurable goal for ministry director/pastor/key lay leader.
Offer quarterly volunteer training and celebration events to cast vision, strengthen skills, and show appreciation. Recognized and equipped volunteers tend to serve longer and with greater enthusiasm.
Develop a comprehensive volunteer pathway that includes clear expectations, a simple onboarding process, personal connection, and regular feedback loops.
Empower lay leaders to multiply themselves, encouraging every team leader to mentor someone else. This creates a self-sustaining culture of development.
Integrate leadership development into discipleship, reminding people that serving is both a spiritual responsibility and a pathway to growth.
Why It Matters: The future of the church doesn’t rest on staff alone—it depends on the body being equipped to serve. When leaders invest in people and create systems that make serving accessible and life-giving, churches thrive. A strong volunteer culture not only expands ministry capacity but deepens ownership, connection, and spiritual maturity among church members.
2. Vision Clarity & Strategic Planning
Pain Point: Mission drift. Many churches are busy, but not necessarily effective. Activity can replace and confuse clarity, and leaders struggle to unite their teams around a shared sense of purpose.
Support Needed:
Help articulating and aligning around a compelling vision
Strategic planning frameworks (e.g., 1–2-year ministry roadmaps)
Tools for church health assessment and realistic goal setting
Potential Solutions:
Host a leadership gathering to clarify and align around your church’s mission, vision, and core values. Get your key stakeholders (senior staff, elders etc.) in the same room and talk.
Bring in a third-party perspective. An outside consultant or coach can provide an objective, unbiased view that helps surface blind spots and bring alignment.
Use simple, scalable assessment tools such as Four Helpful Lists, SWOT analysis, or surveys to give perspective to health and guide next steps.
Why It Matters: Vision gives people a reason to sacrifice, to serve, and to stay engaged. When the direction is clear and compelling, people move together with purpose. Without clarity, ministries compete, leaders get discouraged, and momentum fades. Strategic planning and vision alignment aren’t just administrative—they’re deeply spiritual tools that help churches stay faithful and fruitful.
3. Relational and Emotional Health
Pain Point: Church leaders are expected to carry the emotional and spiritual burdens of others, often with little space to process their own struggles. Many church leaders experience isolation, burnout, and compassion fatigue, especially when they feel pressure to always be “on” and spiritually strong. The constant demand to lead, counsel, resolve conflict, and encourage others can leave them emotionally depleted and disconnected from their own support systems.
Support Needed:
Soul care resources and access to confidential counseling
Intentional and healthy time-off rhythms
Opportunities for connection through peer networks or ministry cohorts
Potential Solutions:
Normalize vulnerability among leadership teams. Create environments where pastors can share honestly without fear of judgment or consequence.
Offer or subsidize Christian counseling or coaching, particularly in high-stress seasons such as post-conflict or after a ministry transition.
Develop a soul care rhythm—weekly rest, quarterly retreats, and annual sabbaticals—to sustain spiritual and emotional vitality.
Encourage leaders to invest in friendships outside the church, including mentors, peers, and spiritual directors who can speak into their lives without the weight of church politics.
Foster a culture of team-based leadership, reducing the pressure of solo heroism and allowing burdens to be shared.
Why It Matters: Healthy leaders cultivate healthy churches. When pastors and ministry staff are emotionally grounded, they make better decisions, love people more effectively, and serve longer with joy. Churches that invest in the emotional and relational well-being of their leaders create a sustainable ministry culture and reflect the heart of Jesus to those both inside and outside the church.
4. Discipleship & Assimilation Systems
Pain Point: Many churches struggle with connecting guests beyond Sunday mornings and helping regular attenders grow spiritually. Visitors often slip through the cracks because there’s no clear next step, while longtime members can plateau spiritually due to a lack of intentional discipleship. Without structured systems, leaders are left guessing who’s growing, who’s disengaging, and what needs to change.
Support Needed:
Clear, intentional pathways for connection, growth, and service
Small group systems, curriculum strategy, and digital discipleship tools
Assimilation process optimization (connect cards, follow-up, membership classes)
Potential Solutions:
Create a clear discipleship map (e.g., Connect, Grow, Serve) that outlines the spiritual journey and what each step looks like at your church.
Launch a “Starting Point” or newcomer group that helps people understand the church's mission and find their place within it within the first 30–60 days.
Develop an assimilation team responsible for first impressions, follow-up, and integration—and hold them accountable through regular huddles and metrics.
Use technology (church management systems, email workflows, surveys) to automate follow-ups and track progress through the discipleship pathway.
Evaluate groups and classes quarterly, using feedback to improve and ensure alignment with the church’s mission.
Why It Matters: Assimilation and discipleship aren’t two separate systems—they’re one continuous journey of helping people feel known, grow in faith, and live on mission. Without clarity and follow-through, people drift. With it, they engage.
5. Communication & Change Management
Pain Point: Church leaders often know what needs to change—whether it’s staff roles, service structures, or ministry models—but struggle to lead the congregation through that change. Vision may be clear at the top but confusing or threatening at the ground level. Resistance, silence, or passive disengagement can stall even the best ideas.
Support Needed:
Tools for clear, compassionate communication of change
Guidance in navigating resistance and relational tension
Coaching for team alignment, conflict resolution, and restructuring
Potential Solutions:
Use storytelling to communicate change—focus on the “why,” not just the “what.” Share testimonies that highlight the heart behind the transition.
Engage trusted influencers early—involve them in planning and use their credibility to spread buy-in.
Break change into small, visible wins, building momentum rather than overwhelming the congregation.
Invest in training for staff and key leaders on adaptive leadership, emotional intelligence, and team dynamics.
Communicate consistently across channels (email, Sunday mornings, small groups) to keep everyone informed and emotionally anchored.
Why It Matters: Change is inevitable, but alignment is intentional. Churches that navigate change well build trust, unity, and long-term effectiveness in fulfilling their mission. The key is not just what you change—but how you lead people through it.
You don’t know where to start…just start somewhere…do something. Anything you do will be better than doing nothing. Start with improving one of these five categories, experience and celebrate that kingdom win…and move on to the next. Now you are on a roll!
