Pastors and the Value of a Seminary Education

According to the latest Church Leaders Intelligence Report,

Researchers behind a new survey by LifeWay of more than 1,000 Protestant pastors report that more than 95% of pastors at least somewhat agreed that they regularly use their seminary training in their ministry; 71% strongly agreed with that statement. Two-thirds of those surveyed had obtained at least a Master’s degree. 85% said they have taken seminary classes, and 96% said they would make the same decision to take them if they “had it to do over again.” Fewer pastors of small churches had formal seminary training; 74% of pastors of churches under 50 in attendance had attended seminary classes, while 88% of pastors with larger churches had. The vast majority of pastors strongly agree that their seminary training was worth the time and investment (83%); among doctoral-level seminary graduates, the percentage of strong agreement was even higher (94%). Scott McConnell with LifeWay Research said, “This is encouraging news for seminaries at a time when a 2009 report from the Association of Theological Schools indicated seminary enrollment is in a slump. The lack of new students doesn’t appear to be linked to any decline in the perceived relevance of seminary education among pastors.”