OK… Senior Pastors… How Much Do You Make?
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Thu, August 28, 2008
- Viewed 544
- (75) comments so far
Here’s the rest of the article from the Christian Post...
Here’s a link to purchase the study and compensation results...
If you're a Senior Pastor at a church in the United States, you're probably making about $80,000 per year. That is the finding of the 2009 Compensation Handbook for Church Staff survey of nearly 5,000 churches and 11,000 employees.
Here's the breakdown: If your church averages 100-300 people, the average pay is around $73k (including benefits). If your church has a weekly worship attendance of between 300-500, that number jumps to $88k. And the total compensation average for the senior pastor of a church $103k if attendance is 500+.
I'm wondering... if you're reading this, how are you matching up? Are you within these findings? I'd like to hear...
Comments
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Leonard on Thu, August 28, 2008
For the first time in almost 30 years I am close. I have always taken much lower pay so I can have staff.
Dale Schaeffer on Thu, August 28, 2008
I’m not really close on this one. I pastor a 3 yr old church plant that runs between 250-300 and am under $50k total package.
Chris Meirose on Thu, August 28, 2008
Good weeks we’ll hit 100+ people, small town Minnesota church.
I make just a hair over half of that $80K in salary. I do have medical and a modest amount for retirement. I am also in my first year as Senior Pastor.
malcolm on Thu, August 28, 2008
$43,200
I don’t think I’m there yet. But maybe someday as my new church plant grows. Today we are running toward 100.
Brian L. on Thu, August 28, 2008
With benefits and such, I make about $43K. Our church is about 55 people on a Sunday.
That makes my salary actually very generous for our size of church. However, I also have 5 children and a wife who is a stay-at-home mom taking care of our younger children and her aging mom. Therefore I am also bi-vocational (part-time).
I’m grateful for my salary. Do I wish it could be more? Absolutely! But God is supplying where we fall short, and proving Himself to be all-sufficient!
slw on Thu, August 28, 2008
These figures have to include everything: benefits, housing, salary and some wishful, “evangelistic” remuneration reporting. Perhaps the report is based on positive confession—if we say it, it will be so. Anyway, a special thanks should go out from all the pastors facing salary review to the authors, because this report just might be useful in prying some more out of those tightly sealed church coffers. Could it be the authors were trying to pry a little bit out of those tightly sealed pastoral coffers and that’s why they published it? http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/wink.gif
CS on Thu, August 28, 2008
I have to admit, I’m really surprised by these numbers. Many IT professionals, which were once perceived as the high-rollers of compensation, only now make somewhere in that $85K range, depending on location, experience, and job skills. I thought that a pastor’s salary currently would be somewhere in the $50-60K range on average.
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CS
Scott L. on Thu, August 28, 2008
I have been at my church for almost five years. Our church is in a town of 10,000 and in five years we have gone from around 30 people a week to around 100 people per week.
With everything added together: Salary, Housing Allowance, Social Security Offset, Health Insurance, Retirement and Continuing Education the total is: 72,150. I am grateful to God and our church that money has never been an issue.
Dave on Thu, August 28, 2008
I’ve learned to stay away from these comparisons. In my life it always lead to bitterness. When I was a Senior Pastor in Western Oklahoma (where the cost of living was low) I found it easy to develop poor attitudes toward our church board for not giving me the value that other pastors were receiving. But when I consider the cost of living in a Metropolitan area like Southern California I’m sure their 85k doesn’t go near as far as 60K in rural Midwest town. I have found more joy with less compensation in a healthy church than I did with abundant compensation in a dysfunctional church.
Derek on Thu, August 28, 2008
I am below average. 125 in worship on Sunday morning and my salary and benefit package combined is about $62k.
Derek
frustrated by this! on Thu, August 28, 2008
I proudly say that this is Bull Shit. 100 ppl!? You can get 3 unpaid pastors (seriously we’re all part of the body, should I get paid for using my gifts?), in three house churches of 33ppl each, and have a church of 100 ppl for FLIPPIN FREE!!!!!! and use God’s money for something that God actually cares about, like helping people.
this makes me so so so so ANGRY!
The Church is squandering and wasting God’s resources so freaking much. this is ridiculous. No wonder churches are losing members, no wonder church is irrelevant, no wonder non-Christians hate us, no wonder we sit docile in our pews and preaching doesn’t really change us.
It’s more about money than changing peoples’ lives.
I make $32k, I work really hard, I use my gifts to serve the body, sermons do not help me, the church is ineffective at transforming me. I tithe faithfully. Not doing that anymore for sure.
We’re doing church WRONG, I’m so upset and frustrated by this!!!! READ THE DAMN BIBLE you hypocrites!
Justin on Thu, August 28, 2008
Comparisons like this are always tricky… It looks like I’m a little above average, but I live in a borough of New York City, which is significantly more expensive than other parts of the country. Statistics like this, given without cost of living indexing, are dangerous both for churches (it can legitimize underpaying someone) and for pastors (we can find ourselves envious, as one brother already noted).
Regarding the comment on IT professionals… Be careful how you compare. My former career was IT/systems analyst. When the Handbook says the average pastor makes X including benefits, I assume that includes medical and housing benefits, church-paid expenses, and book & conference accounts. Saying many IT professionals now make in the $85K ballpark may not take into account total benefits, including profit-sharing, employer contribution to medical care, payroll tax (you should count it since pastors are self-employed for Social Security purposes and pay the employer’s share), expense accounts, educational and equipment costs, etc. Let’s make sure we’re comparing apples to apples.
I wonder on Thu, August 28, 2008
if there is a gap between male and female pastors. I suspect there would be, even though the number of female pastors is small and hard to compare.
Jamie on Thu, August 28, 2008
Dear frustrated by this!
I’m concerned about the level of rage you express about the issue of clergy compensation on this Christian site. You make some pretty significant assumptions and judgments about how others are doing church and you curse twice as well. Not sure how that is honoring God or how it helps anyone listen to your point.
Justin on Thu, August 28, 2008
I’m blotting 1 Timothy 5:17-18 out of my Bible right now… and while I’m at it, I’m seriously considering striking Galatians 6:6 and 1 Corinthians 9:8-12 as well. Come to think of it, I think the pastoral epistles need to be chucked altogether. I won’t touch the Old Testament because no one reads it anyway.
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