Ministers’ salaries are a difficult subject. If your congregation has one hundred members there will be one hundred opinions about a fair salary for the full time ministers. Rumors of what other churches are paying abound. Both ends of the scale are discussed. Sometimes it seems that preachers are paid only in “fried chicken and bushels of summer squash.” Other times rumors float around that the big churches are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars and offering benefits that would make most CEOs drool. The truth is that most churches are somewhere in the middle.

Market Value

Ask the question, “What would someone with a comparable education be paid if he worked in the major industry in our community?” That will help you learn the pay scale in your community.

A Raise that Costs the Church Nothing

What if you could give every minister a large raise without costing the church a penny? If that were possible, would you invest some time in having someone who knows finances look into it and report to the elders?

By structuring the same compensation package to take advantage of tax laws that the Internal Revenue Service puts in place to help ministers, you will be able to give the ministers more money. The government makes laws that help preachers at tax time. It is up to you and the ministers to learn how you can use those laws to the best advantage.

With housing allowance laws, tax laws and insurance structure, a congregation can significantly decrease a minister’s tax burden. All of this is according to government regulations. Many churches do not realize the opportunities available. These are not “creative accounting” or unethical tricks.... >>more>>