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.
A full time pastor should be fairly compensated. My rule of thumb is that his salary should reflect that of the congregation. If he makes less than the average member he is looked down on as the hired help. If he makes more it may lead him to act snooty.
Making the same average amount allows him to move in the the same circles outside of the church as his sheep and live life with them.
*And yes I mean he, not her.
Yes and their home is paid for also.
Not much when y0ou consider its 7 days a weeks 24 hours a day on call and he throws in the wife for all the “pastors wife” functions.
God gave me talents and abilities to earn a very comfortable living in the professional world. But He also ordained me to ministry. The world sees the Osteen’s ministries, the shinning Crystal Cathedral and the post war mega church that has emerged in that past 50 years. In reality 87% of protestant evangelical churches are with memberships of 125 or less.
Professionally trained in the secular world. And professionally trained in seminary with those have chosen ministry as vocation. There is no such animal as a part time minister.
The apostle Paul was a bivocational, as was Amos and many of theprohets. I have a freedom in the pulpit that few others have. The small church is very much alive and well and doing what it is commanded. I, as others like me free resources for ministry of the church.
Time? It is a scarce commodity, but in reality most people waste more time each week than what they work. My day starts at 5 am, and usually finishes at 8:30 unless emergency matters take me.
No .. I don't do things like Rotary meetings. I'm not often a guest speaker at civic groups ... but I do sit on 5 different boards or am a trustee at various community entities.
My time is governed in 15 minute segments, each day and everyday. Time is the only constant that all share equally in. Life is to live and share ... each minute has it's own accountability ... and I strive to fulfill each minute to tbe best of my god given abilities ... “Walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wisemen ...Redeeming the time because the days are evil.”
The tasks we are given by our Provider come with enough time to complete them to his honour and glory ... It is a way of ministry that I would never think twice about.
My point is that you or your contemporaries are often not available during the day when emergencies pop up. For example, when my father lay dying my pastor was able to spend two full weekdays with us at his bedside.
I would dare say that most bivocational pastors would have that luxury to do that, their “civilian” jobs would not allow it.
Again, this is not a slam, but an observation.
Thanks again for what you do to further God's kingdom.
In my Methodist denomination, minimum pay is set by the geographic region that we call an “annual conference.” In our conference, and we’re not that unusual, the minimum pay for an ordained elder is right under $34,000 a year. That generally has a parsonage with utilities ($3500), health care ($15,000),travel ($5000), and retirement ($4,000) on top of that for a total package in the neighborhood of $55-60,000.
“Giving households” is a better measure of church giving than is attendance. One should probably divide attendance by about 4 to get at the number of households. Some of those might be visitors, inquirers, etc., so not all would be “giving households.” A church of 200 attendance, for example, should have about 50 giving households. If the average wage in our region is $35,000 a year, then one should expect less than 175,000 a year in church giving, since so many people do not tithe on gross income or do not tithe at all.
When one adds on any loan expense for church buildings, expenses for maintenance, utilities, fees, services, etc., then that would leave in the neighborhood of 60 or 70 thousand to run programs with.
Obviously, if one adds a youth pastor, praise & worship director, etc., then that 60-70 goes immediately out the window.
I’d say that the 80,000 mentioned in this article is high for our area, but since it is in terms of total package, it isn’t that high an income.
Since you are bragging about not paying a tithe, I have to conclude that you give less than 10%.
The Jews gave 10% at the command of God. The early church gave 100% at the request of the Apostles.
If you want to go back to Gen for the tithe then what did Abraham give?
IIRC he gave whatever God told him to give. He was willing to give his own son. Abraham gave 1/10th to Melchezedek. Jacob gave 1/10th as an honor to God.
Frankly I would think that 1/10th is the minimum a believer ought to give and if he gives less than that, he has no cause to complain if the pastor is beating the flock. Those who think they are being beaten by the pastor are probably those who know in their hearts that they are not giving enough, but would rather complain about the message than put in another dime.
Let me ask you this what was the tithe for?
As it is shown in Proverbs, the tithe was a means upon which man could honor God with the firstfruits of that which God has given him. While one can argue that it is not a requirement for a new testament Christian, I think it is fairly clear that what God requires of Christians should be no less than that he required of Israel.
Let me ask you this. If you are giving all that God requires of you, then what business is it of yours if the pastor calls upon the congregation to dig a little deeper than they have been in order to keep the church afloat? As was stated here earlier, a lot of christians are satisfied putting a dollar in the basket. Is it not the duty of the pastor to remind his flock that they owe everything to God and that giving to God is a means whereby we can honor Him?
Giving is a part of worship. We sing praises to God. We pray to God. We thank God for our blessings. We read from his scriptures as an act of worship. And as an act of worship, we give back to God the firstfruits of that which he has given us. That belongs to Him and if we pridefully refuse to give it back, then we are indeed robbing God.
A Farmer who refuses to give back a tenth of his harvest to the earth eventually has no seeds to plant for the next harvest. We give God the seeds and he gives back the Harvest.
First off, I did not mean this as a slam against bivocational ministers. You guys certainly are pulling more than your fair share of the load here on earth.
My point is that you or your contemporaries are often not available during the day when emergencies pop up. For example, when my father lay dying my pastor was able to spend two full weekdays with us at his bedside.
Emergencies. If you are fortunate, when your minister is not available the supply will send a retired minister, and it will be an old darling you have known for years and love as much as if he were a member of your own family. If not, you might get a decent, spiritual and committed Christian with no talent for making an immediate connection to strangers. That isn’t much comfort when someone is dying and you need that connection.
Many years ago one of my closest friends, an elderly member of the congregation, called to tell me that her husband was dying. (He had been sick for a long time.) Their daughter, a woman a few years older than I, one of sophisticated Manhattan gels was also my friend. I could hear her in the background, hysterical. Not good.
My husband had just flown off to one of these conferences and would not be back for several days. The family didn’t want a stranger, so they asked me to come. I was a young engineer, with no pastoral training whatsoever. I was married to the minister, a much older man and an experienced clergyman, and that was the extent of my experience.
This was before the days of cell phones, so I couldn’t reach my husband to get some pointers. I was able to leave work and go directly to their house, where they dying man was resting in reasonable comfort.
I stayed with the family until my husband was able to get back, which took about a day. To my surprise, the family wanted me there. My infant son was in the living room sleeping on blankets on the floor. Nobody seemed to mind.
Thinking back, my utter incompetence at ministering must have provided some comic relief.
I prayed with them, but anybody could have done that. Pastoring, giving them the assurances they wanted was what was difficult. I could only tell the old man, who had been a thoroughly decent individual, but bad-tempered, curmudgeonly, and a thorough pain in the a** for as long as anyone could remember, that he hadn’t exactly been a sweet peach, but then neither had I, that I was pretty sure that wherever God was sending him, I was certain that I would be going to the same place. The old man smiled at that and my idiotic (but not untrue as far as personalities are concerned) comment put him at his ease. He died before my husband’s plane landed.
God was in control. He always is. I could only show up and do my best.
I will say a prayer for your father.
If every Christian Gave God back what is rightfully His
(10%)
Pastors would never even have to blink and eye about thier salary.
But alas most Christians don’t tithe so the issue remains
The Only Scripture in the Bible where Father tells us to try Him.
It should be out of Joy and Love for the Father that you give. Never out of guilt or have to. Father God demands the tithe but will not take it from you by force.
Dr Marlowe
Great points but one that I didn’t see you mention is that the tithe is the FIRST 1/10 not the left over. God does not want our seconds thirds or fourths but our First.
I have learned the Tithe is more about obediance than money. I give my first 10% first.
One more thing of note.
Every thing I find that God Required in the old testament. He added to it in the new testament. I was wondering how that related to the tithe and then it hit me.
Since the tithe is first.
Jesus was God’s tithe.
Tithing is about giving our firsts to God and God tithed by Giving his only Son first.
yes there are limitations for all of us. I am self employed and an employer ... and although that gives me a bit more freedom for day visits, even then there are time where conflicts of schedules happen. It is why bivocational’s spend inordinate time building leadership in a “shared ministry” role. It is amazing what a small church of 75 can do when ministry is “shared”
Not a bad perspective for any church .. even in a more conventional setting. Many demands are put on our pastors ... things that divert them from not only their gospel commission but their ministering as well. Pastors are often busy .. but so busy that they are not effective.
I will tell you that Pastors are a selfish lot as well .. we tend not to want to share ministry ... insecurity? Maybe. Bivoicationalism force me to share my “authority” with key committed people. Amazing what that does in a congregation
As an engineer/physicist I am interested in “effectiveness” getting the most bank for the buck so to speak. lol All churches need to be effective ... Read Snyder's “wineskins” ... it opened my eyes
I wish you Godspeed
And shopping malls, giant cattle ranches, hotels, giant farms....etc, etc.
Yeah, that sort of thing........
The Church as a career. Shepherding as a profession.
Who knew that "worth" as a pastor could be measured in monetary terms and that quality of "performance" as a pastor might be rewarded by same? For those who profess to love Scripture, it's curious to see a complete absence of quotes on this thread.
Mark 6:8
"These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts."
Matthew 19:21
"Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
Not to mention "the hired hand", and his actions when the wolf appears and many others.
It's meant to hurt. The preaching of the Gospel has to cost something otherwise it's just words. Jesus himself, the apostles, the Church fathers and the greatest saints lived in poverty, were persecuted, wandered in the desert and depended on Divine Providence. Yes, the "worker is worth his keep" but the Gospel is given "free of charge" as St. Paul says. Once you've reached the comfort zone and have a guaranteed income, you're no longer dependent on Divine Providence. Similarly, to profit materially from the preaching, or worse, to be better off than those to whom you bring the Gospel is a scandal.
Having a family of course, complicates things, which is one reason the Church insists on celibacy and it brings to mind the words of St. Paul that a married man can not give God his undivided attention. Hence his admonition that apostles remain single. It's a completely different model of "pastoring" but that's another story.
Having to pay college tuition and a mortgage does not easily gel with the "John the Baptist", "wild locusts and honey" model of living.
Regards
Bull Butter.
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