5LQ Episode 400: How to Compensate Church Staff

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In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Scott McConnell, Executive Director of Lifeway Research. During their conversation, they discuss the following questions:

Why do churches need to pay their staff?
How much of a church’s budget should go toward staff?
What is the average salary of a pastor in America?
What are some common mistakes churches make when it comes to compensation?
What are some trends we are seeing in research when it comes to church staff and salaries?

BEST QUOTES

“The number one expense at most churches is people, followed quickly by facility costs.”
“The median we are seeing in the studies we have done is 47% of the budget spent on salaries.”
“Even if you are just giving a cost of living increase to keep up with inflation, you can quickly get out of whack and most churches start cutting ministries.”
“Ministry is never going to have less people if you do it right.”
“Every person is a member of the body and should be engaged in the work of Christ.”
“We see a model of getting a lot of ministry done by African American church plants while they are still small and young because they are training up laity to take on the work of ministry.”
“Leading a volunteer is much harder than leading your employee.”
“The average clergy salary is $50,800.”
“When insurance is missing, especially medical insurance, it creates a lot of stress on a household and ministry is less effective when those benefits are not there for a ministry family.”
“Being at a church one more year tends to have a negative impact on a pastor’s compensation in total.”