Ministry is a tough calling. It demands more than sermon preparation and hospital visits. It requires the whole person.
Pastors are expected to give spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically, often without a clear system of care for their own well-being.
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Recognizing that gap, Bobby Contreras and several ministry peers helped launch a ministry designed not just to serve churches, but to serve the people who lead them.
That vision became The Whole Pastor, a growing effort focused on helping pastors and ministry leaders pursue health in every area of life.
What began as a shared concern among Baptist General Convention of Texas leaders has become a central hub of encouragement, resources and advocacy for holistic pastoral health.
Professional, personal
For Contreras, the mission is professional and personal.
His own experiences in ministry, along with seasons of illness and recovery, shaped his conviction that caring for pastors must extend beyond spiritual checklists to include mental, relational, physical and financial well-being.
According to its mission, The Whole Pastor exists “to help pastors, families and communities find a more holistic way to be healthy.” The organization’s work is rooted in the belief that the health of a pastor directly impacts the health of a church and its surrounding community.
“The easy math says a healthy pastor plus a healthy pastor’s family equals a healthy church community,” Contreras said.
Studying the problem
That conviction was reinforced through a collaborative study involving Texas Baptists, San Antonio Baptist Association and the Baptist Health Foundation in San Antonio.
The findings challenged assumptions about pastoral well-being — especially during a season when many pastors were stretched beyond capacity.
“The Whole Pastor Blog was my response to a team of folks from Texas Baptist, San Antonio Baptist Association, and the Baptist Health Foundation San Antonio coming together to study and find out that pastors aren’t as healthy as we thought,” Contreras said. “And the crux of this study was done right in the middle of COVID.”
The pandemic intensified existing pressures on pastors, highlighting burnout, isolation and emotional strain. For Contreras and others involved, the data confirmed what many had been experiencing anecdotally for years: pastors were carrying heavy loads with limited support for their own holistic care.
A shared effort
Contreras and his colleagues launched The Whole Pastor to address those gaps by creating a space focused on the full spectrum of pastoral health. The ministry emphasizes five key areas: spiritual, physical, mental, relational and financial well-being.
“The Whole Pastor Blog began as a dream shared by a group of Texas pastors who care deeply about spiritual, physical, mental, financial and relational health,” Contreras said. “Our aim is to help pastors, families, and communities find a more holistic way to be healthy.”
Rather than functioning as a single program, The Whole Pastor serves as a platform and resource hub — offering encouragement, reflection and practical tools designed to help pastors sustain long-term ministry.
Contreras noted, while many organizations are now emphasizing holistic approaches to ministry health, The Whole Pastor is part of a broader movement rather than a stand-alone solution.
“One note is that many groups have been and are now focused in on this holistic approach too. This isn’t exclusive to just us,” he said.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Kendall Lyons and originally published by Baptist Standard.
