Lay Parish Ministers:

A Study of Emerging Leadership

There has been an increased growth in the number of lay parish ministers working in the Catholic church in the United States. Recently, the National Pastoral Life Center developed a resource based upon 15 years of national research that compared surveys from three separate studies conducted in 1990, 1997 and 2005.

Their new book called Lay Parish Ministers: A Study of Emerging Leadership (2005), written by David DeLambo details this research and offers insights into the impact of lay ministry in the life of the church. The data collected in 2005 notes that there are over 30,600 lay parish ministers that work at least 20 hours per week in paid positions, an increase of 5 percent since 1977. The majority, 93.4 percent, of lay parish ministers are paid. The majority are also women. Their average age is 64 and less than half possess a Master's degree.

The study details the impact of different models of lay ministry in light of the declining number of priests. It also examines how the lay minister entered church work and how they were formed, considering the impact of both their educational and ministerial formation experiences.

The study notes the type of work lay parish ministers do. The highest percentage is religious education (41.5 %), the lowest percentage is liturgists (5.9%). Youth ministers represent 10.2 percent of current lay parish ministers according to this study.

Finally, the study examines church as a workplace: from job descriptions, working relationships, financial compensation and benefits to job satisfaction. The study concludes with an examination of the accomplishments and challenges that have been observed in lay parish ministry.

  • Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord (2005) is a statement of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops which serves as a resource for diocesan bishops and those responsible for the formation of lay ecclesial ministers. This resource is available for purchase from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It may also be viewed online in English or Spanish.
  • The National Association of Church Personnel Administrators focuses on the human resource needs of dioceses, parishes, religious congregations and other church related organizations. NACPA offers studies, manuals and other resources that advocate just personnel practices.