In many churches, the pastor’s salary is a quiet issue. There is a sense of discomfort from both the pastor and the members when the topic is broached. Such discomfort is unfortunate, however, because a number of churches will not seek every year to make certain the pastor is paid fairly.
A couple of prefatory comments are in order. First, we all know of the extreme examples of pastors living lavishly or mismanaging money. Those stories, though true, represent a small minority. Most pastors are not overpaid. And most pastors manage their limited finances well. Second, I am aware that many people are unemployed and that anyone who has a job should be grateful. That is still not a good reason to pay a pastor unfairly. As a final note, this brief article is relevant to all paid church staff, though my focus is here on the pastor.
In my 25 years of consulting and working with churches, I have discovered five common issues that are not always known by most church members. And lack of awareness of any one of these issues can have a detrimental impact on fair compensation for the pastor.
- A pay or compensation package is not the same as a salary. I cringe when I hear churches state a package to be the pay for the pastor. The package includes benefits such as health insurance and expense reimbursements such as business use of the automobile. No worker in a secular company adds their benefits and expenses and calls it their pay. Anything other than the cash payment (before taxes) the pastor receives should be reported in a totally separate category.
- There are many resources to find out what the fair compensation for a pastor should be. Many denominations provide their own compensation studies. But you can do an Internet search for “pastor pay” and see a plethora of resources that are available. And as a rule of thumb, you could seek to estimate what the mean income is for families in the church, and use that as a basis for compensation for the pastor. Churches that do not do their homework on pastoral compensation tend to underpay their pastors.
- Many pastors request no raises but would still appreciate one. Some pastors simply don’t want to deal with a critic who might question any raise given to a pastor. Others feel extremely uncomfortable talking about money in general, and use the “no raise” request to deflect further conversation. Some think it’s just the noble thing to do. But most pastors, in reality, would appreciate a fair raise to keep up with growing expenses. Don’t accept their requests as the last word.
- Many pastors are under extreme stress because they do not have adequate income to meet their financial obligations. Like anyone else who is under heavy financial burdens, a pastor can find his thoughts consumed with worry. Because he is so distracted, he naturally is less effective in his ministry. Both he and his family feel the pressure.
- Some pastors leave their churches because of pay issues. You will not likely hear a pastor announce in his resignation that he is leaving because of financial pressures. The reality is that, for a number of pastors, the issue of compensation is a major push from one church to another, or from the church to a secular vocation. It’s not that the pastor is in his job for the money; it’s that the compensation for his vocation is insufficient to meet his family’s needs.
Paul wrote these words to his young protégé, Timothy, in 1 Timothy 5:17-18: “The elders who are good leaders should be considered worthy of an ample honorarium, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, ‘Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain and, the worker is worthy of his wages’” (HCSB).
It is unfortunate that the few indulgent pastors who live lavish lifestyles get most of the attention. The reality is that most of the some 400,000 pastors in America are not overpaid; indeed many are underpaid. Those are the pastors who need our attention.
Posted on December 17, 2012
With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.
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522 Comments
VERY SAD to see so much hate, when God is love. How we GIVE is between us and God, how we recieve, is between us and God. God knows our hearts, our financial situations, etc… WE are the HANDS and FEET of GOD…the tongue can be a VERY dangerous thing. If you do not feel like loving and helping your pastor, do not do it, but consider your own heart condition every time you sit and watch him share God’s message of trial & love. Let all words that pass through our lips, HONOR GOD.
May the peace and love of our Lord guide us as we reach out and shine the light of God, that others may see. ❤
my pastor cleaned out his bank account because God told him to do so he keeps having us pray and fast monthly and pay above the thithe always always always
The fact of the matter is not mussling on ox while its treading out the grain and being doubly honored is correct…. take it in modern day language please, and logic… btw thee and thou are not spiritual languages and does not make you holy for saying it.. its the kings english at the time it was translated.
use your spiritual head here. have a genuine walk with God here, youre living with THEM, they made their home with you. youre supposed to earn something here… remember Jesus comments about the sabbath and doing good on it… similarly eating grain on the sabbath… Jesus dont keep you from getting you fed and taken care of.
the sabbath meaning should you be paid or not…. on the sabbath, people had good done to them, and were fed grain heads…. even David eats the show bread….
I feel like im in a place where church members think they know more than their pastors who are the educated ones. However education (knowledge) puffs up. I can only say this, everyones a critic… and it says judge not that ye be not judge. that means quit criticizing. I have lived 8 years in a personal relationship with Jesus. I stumbled across how to hear him by the Spirit… hint, its by the same way you speak in tongues. I have prayed come as you are, no pretenses, taking every biblical word to heart and feeling, and have hid nothing from God. I can honestly say, hiding behind scriptures and not just use the darn things as a road map to a walk with God is a no no. Granted God works in ways that are not human. He plants things for you, and never answers you straight, like “there is a 20$ bill over at such and such a place if youre willing to go there”…..when you ask for money. God is the wise one… remember? dont think that poof youre going to be healed even, or that suddenly your bank account has a 7 figure digit cause you asked.
I have learned so much Bible from prayer alone, that everytime I read, it gets proven.
Speaking about Bible verses. Will people ever stop quoting them, and not considering context. The original scriptures were never numbered. Think about that. There may have not even been chapters either. But numbers they did not have. Read the Bible in context and live by it with wisdom like putting yourself in the persons shoes who wrote it and the person who was quoted.
like come on here puhlease…. The Bibles promises were even usually made at the time they were written in… not to be considered now in a verse quote. CONTEXT and WHEN it was written.
IM STUDYING TO BE A PASTOR. I do not think we are in it for the money, its a calling. However, when Jesus sent out his friends to preach, and not take a money bag, etc… he meant while He was still around. When He was ready to split, He said take up a sword even, and then He said, youre going to have to survive without me, now you can carry a money purse. I dont memorize Bible verses cause theyre always taken out of context. I just read, and I know. The spirit makes sense to me, but people put themselves into everything they read. Use the Spirit people… let Him help you read the scriptures and have it come to mind when you need to quote it like I just did up above. Man, This is a personal relationship with God we are talking about. What happens when people read but forget to put yourself there with Him.
Roses are red, Pastors are people
Don’t worry about what going on under their steeples
If their sheep want to pay them a hefty sum
For preaching the Word and proclaiming God’s Son
That’s okay with me, it’s just paper and ink
What’s really important is how these men think.
Do they love the Lord with all of their might?
Do they teach what’s wrong from what is right?
Do they visit the widows and care for the poor?
Do they go the extra mile, and then some more?
If such is the case they should be paid really well
Hey, isn’t their job to save people from hell?
Now I’d say that’s quite an important role
This whole matter of saving souls
So let’s pay our pastors what they are worth
For declaring God’s message throughout the earth.
Amy, I pray for you and your family and I gladly would give my home and car and everything I have to go out a help every pastor out there who are in such distress as your husband and you. But the fact of the matter is we are all human and we all do fall short of the glory of God pastor and church goer alike. We are all filled with sin, though taken away by Christ the son of God we can’t help to commit sin! Your right this world has changed since Christ’s time and there are way less of a population willing to give refuge and hospitality to their neighbors. I see it on a daily basis. I bet we all do, and we all have been there before. But God calls us all to serve not just pastors. God, reguard less of compensation type, gives us what we need, and only what we need to survive and that is a blessing in its self. It’s just a matter of seeking out God and praying for it. We serve God by serving others, and we give and shouldnt expect anything in return because we have what we need, and that is God’s love. So God bless everyone is this chat and I keep you all in my prayers, and in return I ask the same of you to keep me in your prayers and to pray for others in need. Thank you for your time!
Are you for or against the non-disclosure of senior pastoral salaries to the church congregation? Most senior pastors in my particular denomination in a church of 300 or more do quite well, financially, although their staff may not be paid well. It is the small churches that pay the pastor poorly. I have seen a huge discrepancy between the salaries of senior pastors and their experienced associates … with senior pastors making 3x more than an experienced associate. What are your feelings about this?
Hello Dr. Rainer, I found this article while searching for figures on pastoral compensation. I do take issue with a couple of points: First you said no one in a secular job takes things like health insurance and count it as salary. I make about $65k per year. That’s my salary. But I don’t see anywhere near that. It’s not just taxes that come out but my health insurance, life insurance, retirement, etc. But if you ask me, “what’s your salary?” I’m not going to figure out all the pre-tax deductions first. That’s just my salary. I think we can talk about pastoral salary but the realistic figure is pastoral compensation which almost always goes well beyond cash money. Second you said a good rule of thumb is to find the median family income in the church and use that as a salary guideline. Most families in my church are two-income families. So should I take that median and divide it in half, or should we be expected to pay our pastor enough that his wife can stay home while our wives work? I don’t mean to sound harsh or argumentative but I would like some clarification. Thanks.
Can I call some of the posters “Idiots”. Is that ok. Arm chair quarter backs. After reading your blogs some think the pastor should not get paid a salary on a regular basis. I have nothing more to say except I feel sorry for the Church and pastor that has to deal with these people.
Greetings in Jesus name . Am Reverend Philip Maiyo from minority group in Kenya and I have ministry called SHOWERS OF BLESSING with 40 pastors and 100 evaQngelists, the ministry has widely spread in 12 counties in Kenya and same parts of Uganda. The ministry consist mainly the minority group of people from the Ogiek and sengwer community. The main request is to partnership together so that our vision of spreading the word of God to the world will be fulfilled, also in joining together we will be able to sustain and help this community to be self-dependent even in terms of businesses since we have orphans and widows , Also my community still live in very low standards of life and if we shall partnership together things like building schools and churches and bible school, hospital and adult school for the community to benefit. We are also requesting banks to join hands together with us so that we can proceed on. Also we are proposing to make a schedule in which we shall be visiting each another and join our churches to be one thing. BASIC NEEDS: 1.We need food. 2. Clothes. 3. Shelter. 4. Education. 5. Health. 6. Clean water. 7. Evangelism.8. Bible tracks and lesson, magazine. 9.Church instruments. 10. Transportation. 11. Media : //www.world pastors neteworking.org
RV. MAIYO
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