If a church can’t afford to pay a full-time pastor’s salary and benefits, they may consider some creative options. These options are less than ideal and may affect the church’s ability to fulfill its mission. They require making some hard choices and asking the pastor to make serious sacrifices.
Large congregations with multiple staff can afford to pay pastors better than a church of forty that is struggling to survive. Because these worlds are so vastly different, we will focus on the larger group – the small church.
While part of this will ultimately depend on your church’s budget, paying your staff fairly is vital to keeping the best employees. If you don’t have a clue where to start or you’re re-evaluating your church compensation, learn more with this church salary guide.
For many clergypersons, that figure looks pretty good since the average clergy salary is $50,800. But unlike most teachers, clergy are not in a position to strike for higher wages.
An 18 year-old high school graduate will be paid around $17-20 per hour, and if he or she works 50-55 hours per week (which is common), he or she can expect to make around $50,000 or more per year in wages.
According to the Evangelical Covenant Church, a healthy congregation with a weekly average attendance of 150 people should spend 40 to 50 percent of their total budget on staff salary.
Most churches will continue to pay the pastor's salary and benefits during his sabbatical although this depends on church sabbatical policy. With adequate planning, the church can direct funds to give the pastor a meaningful sabbatical.
Sabbaticals are typically between 40 days and one year. From a practical standpoint, 40 days doesn't seem long enough to move through the four phases described above. A year-long sabbatical might create too much distance between pastor and church, thus making it difficult to reconnect.
Tithing Statistics If every Christian tithed 10%, faith organizations would have an extra $139 billion each year (Health Research Funding). The giving preferences of those who tithe are almost evenly split between eGiving (27%) and traditional giving (28%) (Vanco Churchgoer Giving Study).
Regardless of whether you're a minister performing ministerial services as an employee or a self-employed person, all of your earnings, including wages, offerings, and fees you receive for performing marriages, baptisms, funerals, etc., are subject to income tax.
What is a pastoral Sabbatical? A Sabbatical affords a pastor the opportunity to step away from his day-to-day responsibilities for an intentional season of rest in order to strengthen his spiritual life and renew himself for future service.
The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of shmita (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According to Leviticus 25, Jews in the Land of Israel must take a year-long break from working the fields every seven years.
I.R.C. Sec. 141 (1954). that, as a general principle, sabbatical leave travel expenses are deductible.
Lifeway Research found about 1% of pastors leave the pastorate prior to retirement each year. To get this estimate, we surveyed 1,500 pastors.
The word “sabbatical” comes from the word “Sabbath,” which is a day of rest dedicated to God. Essentially, a sabbatical is several Sabbaths put together.
A sabbatical is an extended period of time away from work. During this time, employees are still employed and may still be paid. The employee can use this time as they like, whether for rest, learning new skills, writing, or Inner Work®.
The Course of Study (COS) is a five-year program that offers training and education for people who are interested in becoming full or part-time local pastors in The United Methodist Church. Learn more about COS here.
The Western Jurisdiction Course of Study is the basic five-year theological education program of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry taught by faculty from Claremont who are leaders in their field from across the Western Jurisdiction.
In the ELCA, full-time male clergy earn $8,000 more than full-time female clergy. One of the reasons female clergy earn less than male clergy in the Episcopal Church is that women priests are much more likely to be employed in small congregations and in associate-level positions.
In 2017, the average income of all wage-earning adults in the United States was $50,620 —almost identical to the average income of clergy. But there is a large discrepancy between the average level of education among clergy and that of the adult population generally.
In the CRC, 71 percent of white clergy are satisfied with their base salary, as compared to only 34 percent of clergy of color.
The occupations in which salaries are comparable to those of clergy tend to be helping professions such as counselors , social workers, and licensed practical nurses. Counselors and social workers make about the same as clergy, with an even larger proportion of counselors having advanced degrees (53 percent).
Among Mennonite pastors, 70 percent had education loans at some point, with 18 percent still owing student debt. And for those Mennonite pastors with education debt, only about half thought that they had enough income to repay the loans.
But unlike most teachers, clergy are not in a position to strike for higher wages. Salaries of teachers and clergy range above and below these means, of course; but regardless of regional variations or demographic contexts, teacher salaries tend to be higher than clergy salaries.
Church compensation isn’t just a weekly or monthly pay check. Instead, it’s a total of regular pay and benefits.
Unlike volunteers, your church staff is fully dedicated to helping your church succeed. Yes, volunteers do what they can, when they can, but you don’t count on them in the same way as you do your paid staff. Think of it as the difference between part-time interns and full-time staff.
As you can see, all of these factors drastically change how much a person is paid. A tiny church with 100 members won’t be able to pay the same salaries or even have as many employees as a mega church with thousands of members. That’s okay. You just have to determine the right salary for your church.
For instance, offering vacation time doesn’t cost your church as much as a regular salary as your staff can come together to cover another employee’s position for a few days or a week.
However, a growing church should be paying their staff more as their budget increases. Often times, having few staff for so many members is overwhelming and can lead to burnout. This, of course, is a great reason to outsource some tasks to make it easier for your staff to minister to your members and community.
Odds are, you’ll still pay less than a single salary for an entire year . Go ahead and explore outsourcing for the tasks you need skilled talent for, but don’t have the budget or need for full-time staff. This is a great alternative to volunteers for tasks that you need regular, dedicated support.
If you’re not a math person, the 75-percentile would mean that 75% of pastors are paid less than the 75-percentile point and that 25% of pastors are paid more than the 75-percentile. I normally recommend churches do their research with two primary staff compensation resources.
You want the church covered because of the potential loss in income with the departure from death of the senior leader of the church. You want the pastor’s spouse covered in the event of the pastor’s death because the membership of the church will be expecting the church board to take care of the grieving spouse.
The number one reason pastors don’t leave to retirement when they should, is they can’t afford to do so. It is the board’s responsibility to make sure the church is not stuck in this way. The number one reason pastors don't leave to retirement when they should, is they can't afford to. Click To Tweet.
The very first thing a church board needs to do is come to an understanding of pastoral compensation. This is a primary role of the church board to take care of the compensation of the pastor.
The first benefit that should be a staple for the church in taking care of their staff is that of providing health insurance. Yes, I know it is a highticket item but build it into your budget alongside the salary.
Ministry Pay is a web-based site that allows the board to put in the specific demographics related to the church such as church size, budget, area of the country, etc. Their website is: https://ministrypay.com/
October is normally considered Pastor Appreciation Month at least in the U.S., so someone really needs to pay attention to this. It’s nice to make the church aware of this for them to give the pastor notes of thanks for their service. The church board needs to initiate this.
If a church can’t afford to pay a full-time pastor’s salary and benefits, they may consider some creative options. These options are less than ideal and may affect the church’s ability to fulfill its mission. They require making some hard choices and asking the pastor to make serious sacrifices.
The size of a congregation will be the greatest determining factor for the church’s budget. Large congregations with multiple staff can afford to pay pastors better than a church of forty that is struggling to survive. Because these worlds are so vastly different, we will focus on the larger group – the small church.
In January 2019, it was almost 234. That means in 2019, the pastor’s salary should be just over $48,000 to have equal value. This means that if the church didn’t keep up with inflation, the pastor’s salary would have almost $14,000 less in perceived value. What was a livable wage becomes sub-standard over time.
A church that is not obedient to God cannot expect God’s blessing on their mission. So each church, no matter its size, should do everything in their power to ensure that their pastor is fully supplied ( Philippians 4:18 ). Their pastor should see that they are being generous ( Galatians 6:6-8) and not stingy.
A church that is cheap with their pastor will suffer the consequences . The pastor will see that he is being treated with contempt and that the church is not properly honoring God. It’s hard to minister in this context without becoming resentful. Here are five things to consider as you plan your pastor’s salary. 1.
If your pastor has to buy or rent his home, then he qualifies for a ministerial housing allowance. This means that the church can designate a portion of his salary as housing allowance, and whatever he uses as qualified housing expenses will be tax-free.
local pastor may wear a robe or alb. A stole is traditionally seen as a sign of ordination in The United Methodist Church and is conferred at the time a person is ordained. It is generally not customary for persons to wear a stole if they have not been ordained.
person who has completed the process for licensing may be granted an interim license upon recommendation of the cabinet, the District Committee on Ministry (dCOM) and the Executive Committee of the Board of Ordained Ministry (BoOM). (Book of Discipline, ¶317)
Answer: Yes. The license gives the local pastor the ministerial authority only in the church or churches where they are appointed. Of course, they may take the sacraments to the hospital rooms and homes of your parishioners, or to a retreat of your church as an extension of the church’s ministry.
If the local pastor believes officiating the marriage ceremony is a natural extension of the ministry of the church they are serving and if the marriage is in the church in which they are appointed, the answer is yes. If the wedding is to be at the city park or at a church that the local pastor is not appointed, the answer is no. (And don’t forget, the Book of Discipline (¶ 340.2 (3)(a)) requires the local pastor to provide marriage counseling in advance of the ceremony!)
Yes. The local pastor license must be renewed each year by completing necessary educational requirements and meeting with the District Committee on Ministry (dCOM). If the committee agrees, it will make recommendation to the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry (BoOM) and the Clergy Session of the Annual Conference for approval. (Book of Discipline, ¶ 316.2)
There is no requirement that only licensed or ordained persons may preach. If a local pastor preaches in the next county or holds a “revival” in the next state, the license is not an issue. They will be preaching as a layperson. The license gives you ministerial authority only in the church or churches where you are appointed.
For him, it is simply a part of being hospitable. Pastor Philips always pays for the meal out of his own pocket , and then submits the receipt to the church secretary requesting a reimbursement.
Oftentimes, when a pastor takes a guest speaker out to lunch or dinner after a church service, the pastor’s spouse will come along if the guest speaker’s spouse is also going. This usually leads to pastors asking if the meals of both spouses can also be included as an entertainment expense. "You entertain a customer.