Church staff compensation is a sensitive area of consideration for churches.
If one questions the validity of this statement, all that person needs do is
sit in on a personnel committee, a finance committee,
Church staff compensation is a sensitive area of consideration for churches.
If one questions the validity of this statement, all that person needs do is
sit in on a personnel committee, a finance committee,
a budget planning committee or a church business meeting of the Baptist church
discussing a budget.
Setting church staff salaries is usually a complex matter with many converging
factors. And, just about every church goes about setting salaries and benefits
in a manner unique unto itself.
As much as one might like to avoid such often controversial considerations,
striving to provide staff adequate salaries and benefits is essential, so concerned
church members might as well take an honest look at them.
One of the basic facts of staff salaries that congregations should keep in
mind is this: There is a significant difference between what it costs for a
church to have a minister in its care (employment) and what the staff member
actually receives as income.
Some congregations are determined to lump under one expense heading all items
related to having a staff member: health insurance, mileage reimbursement, professional
expenses, housing, utilities, book allowance, pulpit supply. Many churches understand
this as a “total package.”
The sum can look rather impressive. It can also be terribly misleading.
For instance, reimbursement for mileage adds nothing to the ministers
real income. Mileage is certainly a good and fair practice for churches to provide
its ministers and it is certainly a benefit. But to lump such an expense reimbursement
into a “total package of income” is not right.
If a minister were expected to pay for job-related mileage out of his or her
pocket, that would be reducing his or her income by that much. This would be
like a farmer hiring a “minimum wage person” to drive the farmers
tractor and then telling that employee the expense of the tractor, including
gasoline, oil and maintenance, are seen as part of his income and reported on
his W-2 form to be taxed.
Another item that is sometimes reported as part of a ministers total
package is professional expenses, or as they are often called by churches, “Convention
Expenses.” Again, a church is wise to provide the means
for a minister to attend denominational meetings and professional development
workshops and seminars.
Other businesses dealing with professionals provide the same opportunities for
their employees, and while they see them as benefits, they do not count the
money involved as income for the employee.
For years, this editor has encouraged Louisiana Baptist churches to provide
their ministers with book allowances. Anyone who has purchased books lately
knows their costs are skyrocketing. A significant book frequently costs $25
to $50. Congregations want their ministers to be “up on things” and
to present solid sermons, and this certainly involves having good books in the
ministers library.
Without a book allowance, the minister must often decide if he will buy his
school-age child a needed pair of shoes, or if he will buy the book he needs
for a series of sermons or workshops. That is an unfair choice and the church
would be wise to provide a book allowance that would reimburse the minister
for books purchased to enhance his ministry to his congregation.
Some churches even include the churchs share of Federal Insurance Contributions
Act (FICA) payments as part of the staff members “total package.”
What other business concern would dare do that?
As far as this editor knows, churches are the only “businesses” that
talk in terms of “total packages” when it comes to employee salaries
and benefits. Certainly other businesses talk about the costs of having an employee,
but that is always in a different reference from employee salaries.
Providing adequate ministers salaries is difficult enough in most churches.
Keeping separate what it costs the church to care for a minister from what the
minister receives as real income would be a way of keeping staff income from
seeming inflated. It would help the church see realistically what the expendable
income its staff members receive.