A Counselling Perspective of the Causes of Stress among Married Women Pastors of the Assemblies of God Church in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana

The study set out to investigate the forms and causes of stress among married women pastors of Assemblies of God (AG) congregations in Accra Metropolitan Area. A descriptive research design and mixed method research approach are used in the study. Analyses are based on 147 survey questionnaires and 26 semi-structured interviews conducted among married women pastors of Assemblies of God churches in the Accra Metropolitan Area. Notable stress causes among the respondents include long working hours in both pastoral and career domains, high job demands, high job expectations, high family demands, attendance of social functions and uncomfortable working conditions. The level of stress that career married women pastors are exposed to justifies the need to revise the human resource policies of the church. Most career-married women pastors are also enrolling in higher learning academic programs. Combining academic, family and job roles is very challenging for these categories of pastors. The study also recommended that married women pastors must leverage on off-duty policy to take enough rest by engaging in personal relaxation activities such as meditation, therapeutic sleeping, exercise, and so on.