Pastor Salary

Designing a Clergy Compensation Package

In most churches, more money is spent on pastor salary than on any other item. That makes clergy compensation the congregation's number one financial challenge. So it's no surprise that there are as many opinions about pastor compensation packages as there are churches.

I find myself in the somewhat unique position of having been on both sides of the clergy compensation issue. I was a pastor and experienced both the good and the bad of pastor salary questions. I was also a "lay" person helping to determine a pastor's compensation package. That doesn't make my thoughts perfect. But I encourage you to carefully consider the following guidelines.

If you're in a hurry, you may want to skip down to the section, "Elements of a Pastor Salary Package." There you'll find links to other pages where I discuss the various ingredients of effective clergy compensation.

Basic Concepts of Pastor Salary

Pastor salary is a congregation's responsibility and privilege in accordance with it's own abilities to free a pastor to focus on church ministry by providing financial and physical support for the pastor's immediate and long-term needs.

This definition can be divided into several parts.

These points, though, lead to the next question...

How Much Pastor Salary Is Enough?

I heard one church leader say, "If we paid him what he is worth, we'd give him a million dollars. But we only have this much money. That's all we can pay him."

That may be a sincere conviction, or it may be a cop-out. Either way, how much is enough?

Here's my basic guideline for pastor salary:

Don't make your pastor live
on more faith than you do.

By that I mean that you should pay your pastor about the same as what you live on. To be more specific, your clergy compensation package should be somewhere around your church's median household income.

There are always some people who will want to argue points like...

These comments do two things: reveal a great deal about the person saying them and dishearten your pastor. Your pastor isn't serving your church for money. He isn't trying to get rich. So when people judge him for earning or wanting too much money he feels like he is only an employee of the church rather than a ministry partner.

Did you know that pastor's wives don't like to wear new clothes to church? Someone always says something that makes her feel like she spent too much of the church's money. Did you ever notice that when your pastor wears a new tie he almost always explains from the pulpit that it was a gift? He's uncomfortable with new things because there are always a few people who think he makes and/or spends too much money.

I'm not suggesting that congregations need to over-pay their pastors. Nor am I suggesting that financial accountability isn't important. I simply want you to know how all the "negotiations" about pastor salary make your pastors feel.

What's the basic guideline? Pay your pastor about what most of the people in your church earn, keeping in mind that he maintains doctor's hours, has the equivalent of a lawyers education, and has as many bosses as there are members of your church. So a good guideline to follow is to pay him a starting salary a little above the average household income of the people in your church.

What Do Other Churches Pay Their Pastors?

Let me caution you here about comparing your pastor salary package with that of other churches. There are books available that show you what other churches pay their pastors... but I'm not going to tell you where you can get them! In my opinion it shouldn't matter what other churches do. The question is, What should you do for your pastor in your town in your church? Comparing your pastor salary package to other churches won't accomplish much because you are a unique church and your pastor is a unique person with unique needs. Base your pastor compensation on what your pastor needs rather than what other churches are doing.

And if you're a pastor reading this, let me summarize the statistics about pastor's salaries: a pastor down the road from you is earning more than you - a lot more. There. That's what you wanted to know. Now you know it. Get back to work.

What Does the Bible Say About Pastor Compensation?

1 Corinthians 9:14 - "The Lord commanded that those who preach the gospel should earn a living from the gospel."

Simply put, this means that pastors who work in the ministry of the gospel should be free from having to earn a living by other means. See also, 1 Timothy 5:17.

Elements of a Pastor Salary Package

I discussed above some general concepts concerning pastor salary. However, a pastor's compensation package should be divided into various categories or elements. This helps him at tax time, it helps the church maintain financial accountability, and it ensures that people understand that much of the money given your pastor is used for purposes other than his personal bills and day to day expenses.

In addition to a base salary I suggest you include the following elements in your clergy compensation package. Click each title for more information.

Insurance and Pastor Salary
Professional expenses
Taxes
Housing allowance
Vacation
Retirement
Continuing Education
Church Parsonage - Should a pastor own his own home?
Pastor's Retreat
Sabbatical

Pastor Salary Conclusion

Your pastor doesn't expect to get rich off the clergy compensation package you offer him. He knows you don't have a lot of money and deeply appreciates the sacrifices you make to support his family.

Let me encourage you, though, to be as generous as you can. An adequate pastor salary will set him free to minister without distraction.

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