Posted on 08/19/2008 7:34:48 PM PDT by Alex Murphy
The average senior pastor in U.S. churches today makes more than $80,000 a year, a recent national survey shows.
Compensation packages, including benefits such as retirement, life insurance, health insurance and continuing education allowances, have increased to $81,113 per year for the average senior pastor. And pastors who hold a higher academic degree are paid up to $30,000 more per year than pastors without any post-secondary education.
The statistics come from the 2009 Compensation Handbook for Church Staff, an annual analysis of compensation packages at churches across the country, and at a time when churches begin planning their budget for the next year. This year, 4,800 U.S. churches, representing about 11,000 employees, were surveyed between January and March by the Your Church Media Group at Christianity Today International.
According to the survey, churches that draw 101 to 300 people each week pay senior pastors $72,664 per year, including benefits. The pay increases to $88,502 for pastors at churches that average a weekly attendance of 301 to 500 people, and then to $102,623 when attendance averages 501 to 750 people.
Compensation also increased among executive and administrative pastors who now earn an average of about $60,777 at churches of 101 to 300 people and $76,671 at churches of 501 to 750 people.
Pastors who lead music, choir or worship earn an average of about $51,954 at the smaller churches and $64,781 at the bigger ones.
Senior pastors, full-time secretaries and administrative assistants in the New England states have higher compensation compared to those in other regions, the survey also found.
Compensation is highest in suburban churches with suburban senior pastors making an average of 50 percent more than their rural counterparts. The pay is lower with churches in metropolitan areas, small towns and then in rural communities, respectively.
Meanwhile, executive or administrative pastors, bookkeepers and accountants earn the most in the Pacific region and administrators fare best in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Mississippi.
Pay also differed among denominations. Pastors leading in Presbyterian and Lutheran churches earn the most with over $100,000 in compensation while executive and administrative pastors make more on average with independent and nondenominational churches ($80,469) than any other denomination.
The 2009 Compensation Handbook for Church Staff provides a complete analysis of 13 church positions and includes breakdowns for part-time, full-time, church size, income budget, and geographical setting.
Odd isn't it, that it isn't above most Pastor's pay grade to tell you when life begins.
poverty, chastit — oh, wait, nevermind.
bump
The “compensation” includes, usually, the whole package: housing, utilities, *insurance-health and life, sometimes a car, and use of a cell phone, *retirement benefits, etc. However, when added all up it is still quite a bit less than a UAW worker receives with all HIS/HER compensation.
Their jobs are only as stable as those of their congregations.
*Denominations try to get group insurance for the health and retirement.
Need to find one of those great paying full-time secretary jobs. ;) IMO, the article is about the exceptions, not the rules.
Members of Congress ($169,300) make more than twice that earned by pastors. This proves that the devil pays better than the church.
Yeah, but they have to work on Sundays......
$80 grand ain’t poverty, but it’s not rich either.
Around here if you make $80k you can barely afford to buy an entry level home.
In the Midwest it’s a pretty decent living though.
That doesn’t sound to bad for a job where you don’t have to worry about your mistakes since they were probably going to go to hell anyway .
The free housing for many ministers is worth a lot, but with so many houses donated to churches, the free housing doesn’t cost the church much.
The retirement and health benefits packages need to be compared to corporate arrangements. I think my company tacks on 30% of a salary to estimate benefit and retirement cost. So a 65K total minister cost they list, is only a 50K salary after 403B and health plan, 35K after housing.
Their jobs are only as stable as those of their congregations.
Not very stable at all.
Though.. This last weekend we attended a 50th anniversary dinner for the pastor who married us, back when. 50 years as a minister, in that one congregation. He's 78, still going. I doubt his pay is anything like the average "senior pastor"'s is, though.
I doubt that many pastors’ wives work outside the parish. They’re usually just as busy as their husbands in shepherding the church, so that’s $80,000 for the whole family. Not a whole lot.
Yes - I am being a little sarcastic but not too much.
Just curious, what do you do for a living and what do you make?
Well hey- try the LDS version. Members tithe which goes towards buildings, teaching supplies, that sort of thing. Bishops support themselves from the git go. Works right nicely.
Our whole yearly church budget is less than 20k.
I see nothing wrong with this salary. When you consider most pastors are are on call 24/7, this really adds up to nothing in light of the hours they put in. Our pastor also holds a full time job during the week working at his business as a commercial landscaper. Every first Sunday we have a pastor’s offering. He gets what is given to that offering, and that amount varies weekly from little of nothing to very generous depending upon who gives. No one is pressured, it’s not announced as a special offering, it’s just a day set aside to bless him for all he does. He gets a very small percentage of the offerings on the other Sundays. This is one thing the advisory board insisted upon. He was offered a salary, and it was approved by our advisory board, but he refused stating he would rather the money go to “kingdom work” instead. My grandfather was a pastor for 30 years and never took more than 600.00 a month as a salary. He made his living as a painter. Even when he drew Social Security he refused anything more. My grandfather was available to his congregants 24/7 as is my current pastor. One thing I admire about our Pastor is that he is very open about church finances. Anyone at anytime can request to see how much we take in and where it goes.
I would have to conclude then that your entire congregation makes less than $200,000.
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