Want to become a pastor? Or have you ever wondered how much they get paid? An op-ed penned by Patheos writer Jack Wellman explores the relationship between money and men of God.
According to Wellman, a pastor is the lowest paid professional, second only to teachers. Wellman points out that the smaller the church, the lower the pastor is paid. One pastor of a mega-church even wears $60,000 suits.
It is easy to connect that the largest churches, often called mega-churches, come with mega-salaries. Just this year Dr. Robert Jeffress stated in a sermon where he went into a clothing store to buy a suit. The pastor was curious and so asked what the most expensive suit in the place was, knowing full well that he couldn’t afford it. The man brought back a suit that was tailor made for a pastor of a mega-church that cost $60,000! Sadly, this same pastor boasted that he could afford it — he drew a $200,000 salary per year plus expenses. One pastor of a mega-church drew a salary of just over a quarter of a million dollars.
Ironically, pastors of smaller churches sometimes don’t receive a salary at all, but only a “pulpit supply fee” of about $100 per week. These pastors generally get none of the benefits many professionals enjoy, such as health insurance and more. While pastors of large churches often receive reimbursement for clothing, schooling, or a vehicle, the pastors of smaller churches usually have to work a second job to pay bills.
From Wellman:
According to a [sic] 2012 in the Christian Post on September 4th, 2012, The Leadership Network stated that the average salary for mega-churches was $147,000 in 2010 but the lowest paid salary was zero! That is, there are those who have churches that have no money and are so small that the pastor receives no support so the scale starts at the top with about $600,000 with the bottom at $0.
So what is the average pastor salary? According to the National Association of Church Business Administration, the average pastor in 2012 received an annual salary of $28,000. Why would anyone want to become a pastor? At least one in five has to work a second job to pay bills and support his/her family.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports numbers that are slightly higher, with an average of $48,490. However, like most other professions, women pastors earn less than their male counterparts.
A woman involved in youth ministry earns an average of $27,000 a year, while a man ministering to the same group of youths can expect to earn $41,200 a year a difference of over $14,000.
We all grow weary of hearing about the corruption in churches. Those of us who are Christian Left take a lot of heat from our liberal peers who are non-believers. Pastors like Joel Olsteen — who is worth an estimated $40 million and lives in a 17,000 square foot mansion — make all Christians and all pastors look bad. But most pastors are just decent people who are doing what they believe to be good.
I like the pastor of my church. He works tirelessly for the people in his church and our entire community, even participating in many important activities that aren’t church-related, such as being president of the band parents association. I have no idea what he makes (I don’t care), but I know that he deserves to be fairly compensated for the job he does.
Most people don’t decide to become a pastor for the money. I’d like to see us be less judgmental of the ones who have nothing but good intentions, whether we agree with their dogma or not.
