Date

7-21-2026

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)

Chair

Jeffery Davis

Keywords

Christian leadership, Coaching, Christian leadership coach, burnout, pastoral leadership, Canadian pastors

Disciplines

Christianity | Leadership Studies

Abstract

The demands placed on pastoral leaders have increased immensely, and according to Eser (2025), this has caused emotional exhaustion, declining mental health, and feelings of isolation that threaten their well-being and ministry. Data on pastoral leadership burnout and the extent to which a coaching approach is used to assist them in addressing mental health challenges in Canada are limited. This research reported on the use of Whitmore’s (1980) GROW model contextualized within a biblical worldview to mitigate burnout with a group of pastoral leaders (N = 5) in Saskatchewan, Canada. Findings from this research, though from a small population, were consistent with findings from other research (Clarke et al., 2022; Dickieson-Leger, 2025; Eser, 2025; Whitman, 2024) on pastoral leaders' ministry burnout. Results indicated that pastoral leaders are burned out (N = 2), feel overwhelmed and isolated in their roles, and lack training and resources in burnout. The results showed that coaching, which was facilitated virtually, had a positive impact on participants who reported increased care-of-self practices, self-awareness strategies for mitigating burnout, maintenance of healthy boundaries, and allocation of time for rest. The coaching intervention shifted participants from a state of low awareness to a proactive approach of managing their well-being, citing they would recommend the program to other pastoral leaders. This highlights the untapped potential of biblical coaching to help pastoral leaders mitigate burnout. The study revealed that all its objectives were achieved and provided new insight into how churches can use coaching to mitigate burnout among pastoral leaders.

Download

Share

COinS