How Does Pastor Get Paid? | Questions About Preacher / Pastor Salary, Money, Etc
Pastor Salary & Compensation is a Popular Topic Concerning the Church
I think the question of “how pastors are compensated” is asked pretty often or at least thought about pretty often. From people who accuse pastors/the church of robbing the people to new or aspiring pastors who are curious. I know I have previously wondered how much pastors get paid, lol. For the sake of this article, I will be answering based on research and my own personal paycheck as a small church pastor.
Some people probably think pastors make a boat load of money, ie, Joel Osteen or Mike Todd. However, the majority of pastors are pastors of churches of around 50-75. That means that there isn’t a whole lot of revenue. In fact, many pastors like myself are bi-vocational, meaning we work a secular job too. This is usually based off of necessity as the church can not afford to support a pastor.
Biblically, there is a strong argument to pay pastors, that spiritual workers deserve to be paid for their service (1 Timothy 5:17-18, Galatians 6:6, 1 Corinthians 9:9-14). At the same time, one of my heroes, John Piper is quoted famously saying “pastors are not professionals, we are shepherds.” Therefore, despite growing a large influential church, he has intentionally kept his salary very low compared to other large church pastors.
Pastor Salary
Yes, pastors can and do receive a salary, usually. Meaning they get paid on a regular pay schedule like any other job that is established by contract. They file taxes, pay social security, etc.
Some pastors however, have the church finances set up like their own private business. This leads to them maybe helping themselves to tithes and offerings in a more dynamic, subjective way. This I’d add is a caution, do not do that!
Here’s a table of how much pastors, Preachers, Minister Make
—-
| Role | 0-500 in attendance | 501-1,200 in attendance | 1,200+ in attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior Pastor | $68,951 – $156,217 | $84,270 – $184,025 | $92,255 – $189,053 |
| Executive Pastor | $54,055 – $94,756 | $66,234 – $96,966 | $84,325 – $135,065 |
| Discipleship Pastor | $47,538 – $73,535 | $52,515 – $76,912 | $59,672 – $82,972 |
| Family Pastor | $38,433 – $59,352 | $52,759 – $75,510 | $57,466 – $83,885 |
| Worship Pastor | $45,999 – $62,745 | $52,909 – $83,975 | $54,022 – $92,291 |
| Youth Pastor | $35,088 – $62,859 | $45,596 – $64,641 | $47,423 – $75,365 |
| Children’s Pastor/Director | $33,972 – $58,623 | $42,840 – $70,220 | $48,915 – $79,900 |
Benefits From Church
Whether a pastor gets benefits is one of those things that will be largely based on the size of a church. Benefits are so expensive that many pastors, like myself do not have access to them. Hence, we work a job.
Some pastors seek larger churches or new pastor positions for this very reason, to get benefits for themselves and their family.
Churches Housing Allowance
Housing allowance for pastors is a very good benefit! Long story short, it allows pastors to be paid via housing allowance, or live in a parsonage and somehow it reducing tax liability. Please don’t ask me to explain, feel free to check this resource out. https://www.irs.gov/faqs/interest-dividends-other-types-of-income/ministers-compensation-housing-allowance/ministers-compensation-housing-allowance
Additional Money
The saying is true, if you are an expert an one thing, you can make money with thing in many ways. How is that related to pastors compensation? A successful sermon can mean a successful social media following, a successful social media following can mean influencer/ad revenue. An influential pastor could mean a new york times bestseller. A successful preacher could mean speaking engagements and honorariums (stipends). Lets talk about that for a second.
An honorarium, in my opinion, should not be dictated. Freely we have received, freely we give (Matthew 10:8). Honorariums can go as high as tens of thousands of dollars and as low as $50 to $150. Pastors are there to serve the people, not be a source of income…
Many churches will also bless their pastor with finances for things like anniversary, birthday, so on…
