Many church leaders say structural support is lacking

Church workers and spouses of Christian leaders say they have been negatively impacted by their denomination.

When asked to rate the benefit of denominational support in sustaining them, 13% of those surveyed spoke of a negative impact and 36% said it was of no benefit at all.

The data comes from pastoral refreshment organisation Living Leadership’s 2026 Spiritual Health Survey. “Whilst 34% of respondents find some benefit in denominational support, this is still the least helpful source of support with 49% reporting it has no or negative impact,” the charity says. Only 3% found this factor vitally important whereas 70% spoke of the vital importance of personal devotional time, and 65% found their spouse’s support key in their sustenance.