Dr. Thom Rainer of Southern Seminary and The Rainer Group reported the following about the similarities of pastors of effective churches (follow the link to see what criteria he uses to define 'effective churches'):
...the basic question we wanted to ask was, "Do pastors of effective churches spend their time differently from pastors of other churches?" The answer is a clear "yes," and some of the reasons are obvious!
Pastors of effective churches spend 22 hours in sermon preparation each week, versus 4 hours for the other pastors.
The pastors of the comparison churches utilize 8 hours to do church custodial duties such as opening and closing the church and cleaning chores. The pastors at effective churches spend no time each week in custodial duties.
Effective church pastors spend 5 hours a week in personal evangelism, compared to zero hours a week for the other pastors.
I am always amazed to hear that many pastors do not engage in personal evangelism in their personal time, much less on church time. My spiritual valleys always come in times when have have let my evangelistic opportunities continually slip through my fingers. But what amazing joy the Lord gives when you share the gospel of Jesus Christ with a lost person!
Digging a little deeper, it appears that effective pastors (even in smaller churches) are able to mobilize and utilize church members to take on the custodial duties of the church. Furthermore, 5 hours of evangelism and 22 hours of sermon preparation must be accompanied by several hours in prayer. Where is the time for counseling, putting out fires, and other pastorly duties? Don't commit to these things right away (unless an emergency or death, etc.). Prioritize for prayer and reaching the lost.
Speaking of prayer, a study from Ellison Research came out recently revealing the satisfaction of the average protestant pastor's prayer life.
Research results being released for the first time in the May/June edition of Facts & Trends magazine show that only 16% of Protestant ministers across the country are very satisfied with their personal prayer life. Another 47% are somewhat satisfied with it. Thirty percent are somewhat dissatisfied, and 7% are very dissatisfied with their prayer life.
I heard a radio station host say, "The good news is that pastors know they need improvement." Who doesn't? But what this host is missing is that true prayer warriors will always be dissatisfied (to some measure) with their prayer lives. There is an inherent draw away from prayer, however, in modern church organization. Pastors are often required to be CEO, preacher, counselor, sometimes janitor, etc. I have heard of a few strong pastors, like the late Rick Ferguson, taking (by force if necessary) up to four hours each morning to pray. This is a part of a pastor's duty to his flock. Intense prayer is actually a part of every Christians duty to Christ. Christ Himself said, "So, could you not watch with me one hour?" (Matthew 26:40 ESV). I believe it was Martin Luther who said that he had so much to do in a day that he could not afford to not pray for three hours every morning.
Pray for evangelistic opportunities; God will lay them at your feet. The most faithful church member you will have will be one you have led to Christ. Believe me, there are people all around you agonizing for the absolute truth found in Jesus Christ alone!

