Who Prays for the Pastor?
by Fredrick Ezeji-Okoye
CHICAGO – June 10, 2020 – Most people understand being a pastor can be a heavy load, even if they don’t know many details of what is involved. According to some statistics*, 75 percent of pastors report severe stress and resulting anguish, worry, anger, depression and fear, so perhaps it’s not surprising that 1500 pastors reportedly leave their ministries each month due to burnout, conflict or moral failure.
Of pastors surveyed, 57 percent would leave if they had somewhere else to go or another vocation they could do. Pastors also rank high in statistics on drug abuse, alcoholism and suicide, along with doctors and lawyers.
Even before he discovered these stunning statistics, author and ordained evangelist Fredrick Ezeji-Okoye had been called to minister to those who
minister, being led by God to create an organization called the Men of Faith Network.
He develops his ideas and provides encouragement and advice in his book, Who Prays for the Pastor? Aimed at an audience of both pastors as well as their parishioners, Ezeji-Okoye offers practical information for both parishioners as well as pastors on a variety of subjects, all aimed at supporting pastors in their life and work.
“Parishioners should share the burden of praying for our pastors. Week after week, we come to receive that which God has poured into them. We have many expectations of them, expressed and unexpressed,” Ezeji-Okoye explains. “How often does the average congregant stop to consider the pastor’s needs? If the pastor is doing all the pouring, how is he being replenished? It is time to become the ones who pray for our pastors.”
With chapters ranging from stress and financial pressures, to others about wellness and family life, the book is one individuals may benefit from reading, and some groups have begun purchasing in quantity to share with congregations and organizations for pastors. The book even ends with a chapter of intercessory prayers provided by others.
“For you, pastors,” he writes in the conclusion, “I encourage you to connect with one another, either in a small group or on a larger scale, to be accountable to each other. No one can be an island. Regardless of the grace upon your life regarding your success in ministry, never get to a stage where you feel you do not need prayers or counsel from others. As much grace as was upon the life of Paul, even he requested prayers.”
Ezeji-Okoye ministers as an evangelist and is the founder and president of Men of Faith Network, a fast-growing, diverse, multi-cultural network of pastors and leaders with a global outreach.
He shares how one Sunday morning he stood in church listening to his pastor praying passionately for others when he heard a still small voice asking, ‘Who prays for the pastor?’ and this became a burden on his heart that led to receiving God’s assignment to create a ministry for pastors and an outreach for many people to begin to pray for their pastors.
The Men of Faith Network serves pastors by providing them a support system and encouragement, through relationships built and its monthly meetings. The founding chapter is in the Chicago area where Ezeji-Okoye lives, with additional groups forming in other parts of the country as well as in Africa.
Ezeji-Okoye is also CEO of The Liberty Foundation LLC, a company that specializes in training church workers and consultants. He holds a bachelor of science in economics from Nnamdi Azikiwe University in his native Nigeria.
He has lived in the USA since 2005. He and his wife, who is also from Nigeria, now live in the Chicago suburbs where they are raising their young family.
Who Prays for the Pastor? [ISBN: 978-1-946889-48-5, $9.99] was published by Carpenter’s Son Publishing. It is available from online retailers and selected book stores. For more information, visit https://libertyfoundationllc.com.
For review copies or to interview Fredrick Ezeji-Okoye, contact Joni Sullivan Baker, Buoyancy PR, at 513/319-3231 or jbaker@buoyancypr.com.
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*According to statistics cited at www.pastorburnout.com, quoting an article in the New York Times.