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Religious educators hold ministry positions in almost
all major denominations. To many, these jobs are
viewed as idyllic; imagine working all day with
fellow believers in a church setting! However, in
many denominations, little research has been done to
confirm such joy and satisfaction.
Research in job satisfaction has become a routine
form of assessment to determine the satisfaction of
employees in order to insure their physical and
psychological well-being. Many variables of
satisfaction or dissatisfaction have also been
associated with reasons for workers leaving their
jobs. In this book, Directors of Christian Education
in the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod were surveyed
to determine if they were satisfied with their jobs;
to provide an opportunity for Directors of Christian
Education to evaluate their ministry skills and share
what additional competencies, if any, might be added
to their education to enhance job satisfaction; and
to seek information regarding their likelihood to
leave ministy in the next three years.
The results are somewhat surprising! In addition to
this research, the author offers recommendations for
keeping these workers for the future.

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James H. McConnell, PhD, a religious educator for over 30 years,is a professor of education and Director of the ChristianEducation program and major at Concordia University-Texas. Heleads workshops on his research and on other areas of ChristianEducation.

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