How much should a church pay a pastor

How much should a church pay its pastor?

The easy answer is a salary that will allow the Pastor to focus on his ministry full-time while supporting his family in general comfort. Beyond that, we cover some key factors to help demystify the payscale a bit. We will cover key considerations and variables that will take the answer from “it depends”, to “according to these factors…”

 (** This is for entertainment/ consideration purposes only, please consult a local CPA or Attorney)

Should a church pay its pastor 

This is a big question, within the world of all religions. Pastors, priests, monks, and others; all have different ideas of their role and responsibility to their congregation. In this post, we will be referring to passages from the Bible to give guidance, and the U.S. federal government to give rules. 

The bible doesn’t ask church leadership to take a vow of poverty. On the contrary, Paul speaks of a double portion to the preachers and teachers (1 Timothy 5:17-18). If the needs of a pastor are provided for abundantly, they may now work relentlessly. In my opinion, this steadfast, head-down approach to ministry is what can change a simple salaried man in the pulpit, into a Pastor.

Despite what some of the more “popular celebrity pastors” may have interpreted these passages to mean. The Bible also does not say that the Elders of the church need beachfront property and a few luxury cars. The book of Deuteronomy clearly states that a worker shouldn’t be stifled (Deuteronomy 25:4). Hopefully, we can see the difference between a well-tended to working animal and the Kobe beef farms that some have turned the pulpit into. When the working oxen isn’t muzzled while treading the grain, it is allowed to work harder without unnecessary burdens. The Kobe beef cows are pampered, massaged, and fattened up; while never being allowed to even walk around.  

• 1 Timothy 5:17-18 (ESV)
  • 17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” This is in reference to the verse in Deuteronomy.
• Deuteronomy 25:4 (ESV)
  • 4 “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.

Why should a church pay its pastor

Scripture clearly states WHY we should pay the pastoral staff. 

First of all, Pastors are not servants of the church, they are men with lives, passions, families, and responsibilities outside of the church; who are also slaves to Christ (Ephesians 6:6). Because of this fact, a Pastor is required to provide for his family(1 Timothy 5:8). The verses also cover the need for those being taught to care and provide for the teacher (Galatians 6:6), as well as the required compensation for the work that has been completed (James 5:4). Providing pastoral care is often a thankless job filled with stress, through submission to and care of the church leadership, we can most assuredly eliminate some of the life stress often felt from leadership (Hebrews 13:17).

• Ephesians 6:6 (NASB)
  • 6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.
• 1 Timothy 5:8 (ESV)
  • 8 But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
• Galatians 6:6 (ESV)
  • 6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.
• James 5:4 (ESV)
  • 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
• Hebrews 13:17 (ESV)
  • 17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

General Encouragement

General Encouragement of the pastor NEEDS TO BE one of the primary concerns of the church. We will cover this in detail in another post, but financial incentives and family/living options are a huge factor in generally encouraging leadership. 

• Prevent Pastoral burnout is a major concern for many in the church. This is a dedicated topic in most seminary programs, due to the frequency of burnout.
  • Pastoralcareinc.com has a terrific list of statistics about the pastorate and the burdens thrust upon many pastors. While this is just statistical data and can’t be applied to every pastor in every church, some consideration should be made to the generalities. Hours worked, time away from family, 24/7 on-call expectations…
• Increase time within the ministry is a two-edged sword when discussing burnout. We aren’t trying to squeeze every last hour out of our Pastors. We are trying to pour every minute they have into the ministry, instead of a second job or unneeded worry about personal finances.
• As stated above, a Pastor is expected to be accessible, to deal with life-altering circumstances on a 24/7 basis. While this is an expected and embraced part of the pastoral role, many of those not serving within the church often forget the hours that many Pastors work. 50-70 hour weeks are not uncommon in many churches.

How much should a church pay its pastor

Again, this answer depends on many factors. A simple hourly or yearly salary number is worthless due to local variables as well as overall compensation models. So here are some things to consider and discuss BEFORE a formal salary is agreed upon.

What is included in this salary 

While this may seem simple, churches often have only a small number, if any full-time employees. This differentiation from most people’s standard W-2 jobs can lead to some new considerations. Because of this, we will use a simple checklist.

1. Retirement is a fun one if you want to head down the rabbit hole. One of the exciting things about working in ministry is the ability to avoid the standard employment taxes that go towards SSI and Medicare. Dave Ramsey did a solid overview of the opt-out of social security, check it out HERE. While this isn’t something to take lightly, many in the world (myself very much included) would rather fund a personal IRA instead of SSI. 
2. Benefits aren’t as simple as Yes/No. There are many fluid considerations to take into account. At a minimum, the standard medical, dental, vision benefits should be covered by the church. Where it can get more “interesting” is when you consider the addition of a vehicle provided for Pastoral use, church cell-phone plan, home internet service… These types of additional benefits can really make or break a salary. A $40k/yr salary in California is going to mean a lot of couponing to survive, if the Pastor has to pay out of pocket, with  POST TAX for all normal living expenses. However, a $40k/yr salary in California is more than enough to live a life a luxury, if you aren’t required to pay for housing, insurance, car payments, student loans, cell phone, etc.

This is a case of the church providing for the Pastor and his family all the common living expenses and needs. Then essentially providing a small salary to them for their own discretionary spending.

1. If you are going to provide a church car for the Pastor to use, is it going to be a lease or a purchase? If so, consider the depreciation and tax obligations of both options, along with insurance coverage considerations. Is the church going to reimburse mileage? According to the IRS, an employee can claim, Beginning on Jan. 1, 2019, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:

• 58 cents per mile driven for business use, up 3.5 cents from the rate for 2018,
• 20 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, up 2 cents from the rate for 2018, and
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations.

1. The usage of credit cards can be a huge benefit for a Pastor and his family.
2. Petty Cash availability to cover “hosting” costs of church leadership. While as the name suggests this may seem petty, providing hundreds of extra meals throughout the years can really cut into a smaller fixed budget. 
3. Is the church going to pay for conferences, retreats, or even schooling for the Pastor? 

Guarding against greed  

The use of a seniority scale will help to maintain the proportionality of incomes throughout the church. With most careers, the topic of salary is kept private. However, the annual church budget meeting should clearly display staff salaries. While these should not be displayed individually, a two to three-person staff can do basic math. Keeping pay commensurate to the seniority of the posting allows for the Senior Pastor to not feel jealousy towards an associate making the same (Matthew 20:8-12).

• Matthew 20:8-12 (ESV)
  • 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’

Family life 

It is no secret that put something in the water at seminary. Pastors having their own personal basketball, or in some cases, a football team is seemingly standard. With this in mind, maintaining a decent work-life balance is pivotal to preventing pastoral burnout. Again referencing 1 Timothy, a pastor must care and provide for his family. That includes the needs of his wife as well as his children. 

Setting a limit to the number of expected hours could lead to needing more staff to fill in. 

Costs of Living 

This is a list of three very different professions from three very different locations. All of the salaries are provided via the same website for continuity. We used indeed.com to help compare a Pastor, Plumber, and Police Officer located in Los Angels, Boston, and Detroit. 

Comparison Table:

	Pastor	Plumber	Police Officer
Los Angeles	$47K/yr	$52K/yr	$65K/yr
Boston	$42K/yr	$77K/yr	$51K/yr
Detroit	$35K/yr	$52K/yr	$40K/yr

Who should decide raises or changes

This is more of a question of church governance, but it is imperative to maintain transparency and be above all reproach. I would encourage a meeting of a minimum of 3 church leaders to discuss initiation, augmentation, or elimination of any compensation for church staff. Generally, the church finance team will just have this as a line item in the annual budget meeting. If something unexpected happens, a churchwide meeting may not be out of the question. 

Anual or Christmas bonus?

Referring back to the section on what is in the overall salary discussion. An annual bonus of cash is wonderful. Though careful consideration should be made to the best usage of these funds. For example, instead of a stack of taxable cash, maybe something else might be more efficient. Perhaps the church prepays the “church’s cellphone” for three years and uses the credit card miles to send the pastor’s family on a vacation or the church pays down the loan on the car owned by the Pastor’s family trust. The options are endless, and I am assuming if you are still reading this, your church has at least one financial planner or CPA to assist you in the minutia required.