{"id":4279,"date":"2016-02-10T05:00:35","date_gmt":"2016-02-10T11:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thomrainer.com\/?p=4279"},"modified":"2020-02-07T12:21:58","modified_gmt":"2020-02-07T18:21:58","slug":"ten-fascinating-facts-about-pastor-and-church-staff-compensation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-fascinating-facts-about-pastor-and-church-staff-compensation\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten Fascinating Facts about Pastor and Church Staff Compensation"},"content":{"rendered":"

By almost any metric, pastors and church staff are not overpaid.<\/p>\n

While some ministry leaders provide sensational exceptions to this rule, we need to dispel the myth of highly-compensated pastors and church staff.<\/p>\n

I have in my hands one of the best statistical resources for ministry in the world. I am deeply grateful for the years of work of Richard Hammer, especially his latest statistical tome: 2016-2017 Compensation Handbook for Church Staff<\/a>. <\/em>I am likewise grateful to the publisher, Church Law and Tax, a ministry of Christianity Today. <\/em><\/p>\n

This incredible volume belongs in every church. I have been trying to distill some of the facts from the nearly 400-page book. You might find the following factoids fascinating:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Church income is the number one indicator for compensation levels for all church staff. <\/strong>The larger the financial receipts, the greater the likelihood of higher compensation for all staff.<\/li>\n
  2. The highest paying positions in order are pastor, executive pastor, and worship\/music leader. <\/strong>The growth of the executive pastor position is a major church trend of the past decade. It deserves greater study.<\/li>\n
  3. Church staff compensation varies by type of community. <\/strong>The rank of compensation level is: large city suburb; city\/urban; small town; and farming\/rural.<\/li>\n
  4. Education is still a factor in compensation. <\/strong>For lead pastors, pay increases about 9 percent from bachelors to masters, and 10 percent from masters to doctorate.<\/li>\n
  5. Fewer than two-thirds of lead pastors receive health insurance as a benefit. <\/strong>Lead pastors are full-time with at least one other minister on staff.<\/li>\n
  6. One half of all pastors did not receive a raise in the past year. <\/strong>This discovery was another surprise.<\/li>\n
  7. Compensation varies little with length of tenure for all staff positions. <\/strong>More experience does not necessarily mean higher compensation.<\/li>\n
  8. Churches in mainline denominations tend to offer higher compensation to their pastors and staff. <\/strong>The Assemblies of God offered the lowest compensation of the denominations studied.<\/li>\n
  9. Youth pastor compensation does not change significantly from smaller to larger churches. <\/strong>In fact, the average compensation does not change at all past 750 in average worship attendance.<\/li>\n
  10. Female fulltime children\/preschool ministers make 14% more than their male counterparts. <\/strong>This factoid surprised me. I really want to dig into it more.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Next week I will look at the benefits church staff receive. In the meantime, let me hear from you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By almost any metric, pastors and church staff are not overpaid. 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