Healthy Pastors Lead Healthy Churches and Healthy Churches Change the World

The Global Leadership Network’s premier two-day leadership event of the year has been held annually in August for the last 25+ years. Gathering hundreds of thousands of people from various industries and backgrounds, one of the things that makes The Global Leadership Summit (GLS) so unique are the leaders who know that in order to create a better world around them, they must first invest in their own growth.

With the shared belief that when a leader gets better, everyone around them gets better too, longtime GLS attendee, Marty Sawyers, President & CEO of Full Strength Network, knows deeply how important it is to take care of yourself as a leader so that you can take care and lead others well. In addition to the fresh leadership insights Marty gains from attending the GLS, it’s been the overall value placed on a leader’s responsibility to care for their leadership growth that has brought him back year after year, fueling his growth and maximizing the impact of his work through the nonprofit, Full Strength Network.

90% of Pastors feel they are inadequately trained to cope with the ministry demands.

Marty believes taking care of yourself as a leader is especially critical for those in ministry. “Leading is hard and I believe leading in a church is even harder,” said Marty, who spent the first part of his career in the corporate world before he became an executive pastor.

Now leading a nonprofit focused on the wellbeing of pastors and ministry leaders he says, “I get fulfillment and satisfaction as a leader when I get to play a part no matter how small in seeing others and especially pastors and ministry leaders fulfill their calling and purpose that God has placed on their lives. I pray that anyone in ministry has access to get the well-being resources that help them get better, stronger, healthier, and stay in their calling to support God’s plan to spread the Gospel.”

The Hard Truth About Pastors

One of the common struggles facing pastors today is the misconception that they are exempt from problems related to mental and spiritual health. Unfortunately, there’s still a stigma around asking for help. “You don’t need to be broken and in crisis to need counseling,” said Marty. “Pastors and ministry leaders want help but often need permission and privacy to get the support they need at whatever level of support that is.”

The statistics about the struggle many pastors face emphasize the need for the ministry Full Strength Network provides:

• • • 90% of Pastors feel they are inadequately trained to cope with the ministry demands.
    • 83% of ministry leader spouses want their spouse to leave pastoral ministry.
    • 38% of Pastors have contemplated quitting their calling in the last year.
    • 50% of all Pastors are in some form of crisis or burnout.

“We celebrate athletes when they take time to work on their mental health, but we fire pastors or think there is something wrong when they ask for help,” said Marty. “Also, as a nonprofit it’s sometimes difficult to raise funds for what many people think pastors should be able to handle on their own. This isn’t clean water and food in a really tough environment overseas. This is giving pastors and ministry leaders support with their mental health.”

If the Church is the bride of Christ, how much more important is it to value the health of its leaders?

We’re so grateful for the leaders in our GLS audience like Marty Sawyers who value their leadership growth and recognize the critical need to invest in your wellbeing. “We believe healthy pastors lead healthy churches, and healthy churches change the world,” said Marty.

This short video about a pastor’s recovery from burnout illustrates this important value:

ARVE Error: Mode: lazyload not available (ARVE Pro not active?), switching to normal mode

If you are a pastor or ministry leader searching for support, Full Strength Network offers affordable counseling, coaching, and resources designed for your wellbeing. Learn more at FullStrength.org.

Invest in Your Leadership at The Global Leadership Summit

“I take responsibility to develop myself,” said Marty. “Leadership development is important to everyone in the organization and should be a priority no matter what type of organization you work for because everyone wins when a leader gets better. If I’m serious about being a better leader for everyone else’s benefit and not just my own, then I need to always be learning and growing. If I don’t get better or use that for others, then the GLS was just a nice couple of days of talks. If you care about what you do and how you lead yourself and others, then you need to prioritize your development.”

Join Marty and others at The Global Leadership Summit LIVE August 4-5, 2022, online or at a local venue near you. Get Tickets >>