Financial Well-Being as Faithful Stewardship: Why Clergy Need Saving Grace

John Wesley believed deeply that the way we handle money is inseparable from our spiritual lives. His oft-quoted guidance, “Gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can” was never about accumulation for its own sake. It was about freedom: freedom from anxiety, freedom to respond generously to God’s call, and freedom to live a life ordered by love rather than fear.

The Hidden Weight Clergy Carry

Across denominations, studies consistently show that clergy experience higher-than-average financial stress, often compounded by student loan debt, modest compensation, and the unique realities of itinerant ministry.

• A National Study of Clergy Well-Being found that financial strain is one of the most common stressors affecting clergy mental, emotional, and physical health.

• Research published in the Journal of Religion and Health has linked financial anxiety among clergy to increased burnout and decreased vocational longevity.

• The American Psychological Association reports that financial stress is a leading contributor to anxiety and depression—conditions clergy often carry quietly while caring for others.

For United Methodist clergy today, that freedom can feel increasingly difficult to attain.

When financial stress goes unaddressed, it doesn’t remain isolated. It affects family systems, ministry effectiveness, and long-term sustainability in service.

Why Financial Well-Being Is a Ministry Issue

Clergy are called to preach, teach, and model lives of trust in God. Yet it is difficult to lead others into wholeness while privately carrying unresolved financial fear. GCFA, together with Wespath and other agencies across the denomination, are focused on clergy financial well-being to help care for those who care for others.

Financial well-being allows clergy to:

• Make vocational decisions rooted in calling rather than crisis

• Engage ministry with clarity instead of chronic anxiety

• Model healthy stewardship for congregations

• Prepare responsibly for seasons of transition and retirement

In short, financial well-being supports the very heart of pastoral ministry.

Saving Grace: A Practical, Faith-Rooted Resource

Saving Grace: A Guide to Financial Well-Being, is a resource designed to give clergy and laity the tools they need to get comfortable with the topics of saving, earning, giving, spending, and debt, along with helpful strategies for achieving a sustainable financial life. It was created specifically to meet clergy where they are—acknowledging the real financial challenges of ministry while offering practical, grace-filled tools for change.

Created through Wespath’s Clergy Financial Well-Being Initiative, Saving Grace is a small-group, workbook-based program that helps clergy:

• Understand their financial realities with clarity and honesty

• Set achievable goals aligned with personal values and faith

• Build habits that support long-term stability and generosity

• Engage financial conversations without shame or judgment

Rather than offering one-size-fits-all advice, Saving Grace recognizes the distinctive context of clergy life—and speaks into it with compassion, wisdom, and theological grounding.

A Connectional Commitment

One of the strengths of The United Methodist Church is our connectional system. Clergy do not walk alone, and neither should they navigate financial well-being in isolation.

Foundations and annual conferences may offer individualized financial education. Others partner directly with Wespath to provide additional financial education and planning support.

An Invitation Forward

Caring for clergy financial well-being is an act of faithful stewardship—of people, callings, and the future of the Church.

If you are a clergy person seeking greater clarity, confidence, and peace around your finances:

• Purchase the Saving Grace resource and consider forming or joining a small group

• Contact your annual conference office to learn how Saving Grace is offered in your conference

• Reach out to Wespath for additional tools, guidance, and support tailored to United Methodist clergy

By tending to financial well-being with intention and grace, clergy are better equipped to live, and LEAD, into the abundant life God desires for all.