Podcast Episode #206
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We discuss a recent post on pastor and staff benefits. These points come from Richard Hammar’s 2016-2017 Compensation Handbook for Church Staff.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
- Too many pastors are retiring and have little to no retirement savings.
- I’m very concerned about many of our pastors who are in poverty when they retire.
- If you have an automobile allowance for your pastor or staff, that needs to be a reimbursement instead.
- Pastors put more miles on their car than 80% of other vocations.
- If your church doesn’t provide auto reimbursement, you’re essentially reducing the salary of the pastor and staff.
- Life and disability insurance are very low cost benefits churches should look to provide to staff.
The seven concerns we share about pastoral staff benefits are:
- Fewer than half of solo pastors receive any health insurance benefits.
- Almost three-fourths of full-time worship/music leaders receive health insurance benefits.
- Many full-time church staff receive no retirement benefits.
- Almost all full-time staff get paid vacations.
- Only six in ten full-time pastors and staff get any type of automobile reimbursement.
- Very few full-time ministry staff receive either life insurance or disability insurance.
- The parsonage as a benefit has all but disappeared.
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Feedback
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these concerns seem to be statements rather than questions or problems . do you wish to present solutions or invite discussion of these concerns ?
Did you listen to the podcast or just read the show notes?
Most of us who gave our lives to the Lord and the work of His church worked in sub-wage churches. Those of us who gave our lives in “Pioneer Missions,” starting churches and pastoring small churches had secular jobs as well, because there was little or no support from the Convention we cooperated with. We got by with much pray, much love and sometimes lotsa “poundings” by those who loved us. I had a little in the Annuity Program, which I had to use for a series of operations on my sons back, but very little. I would qualify for the SBC Help program for pastors, but haven’t taken it or governmental food stamps. I would love to talk to someone who would really understand what has happened to many of us…who actually gave our whole life to the work of the Lord.
Glen –
I thank God for servants like you. I have taken a few moments to pray for you and your family.
I apologize for so many misspelled words and incomplete sentences, but was a little anxious as it is the first time I have ever expressed myself…which I didn’t want the world to see…or to think that I was complaining. I thank the Lord for every opportunity to serve Him, and I will never complain. brother glen
Burton Avenue Baptist Church bought a parsonage for my father and mother less than 10 years ago. They are located on 900 Burton Avenue Waterloo, Iowa 50703. The recently dissolved and Calvary Baptist Church of Waterloo relocated to 900 Burton Avenue. Parsonages are not as dead as they may seem. I live in a parsonage and I think that in general, smaller churches are more likely to have them because it is cheaper than paying their pastor enough to buy their own house.
Like I said, I pastor a small town church in northern Iowa. Until this year, the church did not even give their pastor a 1099 or W2…you read that right…for the last 40 years of the life’s church, the pastor has been responsible to get and fill out his own 1099 or W2. How do I speak to them about issues like life insurance, disability insurance and retirement? Are there any ways to approach this topic well without seeming like you are begging for more money?
One last note, I do love the church to which God has called me. They are a dynamic and sweet group who love me very much and have basically bent over backwards to make my wife and I feel loved and welcomed. They are awesome and very flexible. They are learning a lot and I want to continue to lead them well without driving them to hard. I absolutely love them and they love me! But, we always want to strive to grow together for God’s glory and the edification of His church.
I pastor a church in rural Iowa and we are just putting the finishing touches on a brand new parsonage! The church built (debt free! PTL!) a 4,000+ sq. ft. home for my family of 6 (soon to be 7) with a large “ministry space” in the basement. Our church is growing and healthy. We added a second staff member a little over a year ago and we’ve seen steady growth for the last several years. I am glad that I am in a parsonage because our church literally sits at a crossroad with just a handful of houses (and a bar). Purchasing my own home in this area would probably not be a wise investment for me. The housing market is not strong and anything available would probably need work; and I am NOT a handyman! This new parsonage is a going to be a HUGE blessing to my family AND the ministry of our church! In another ministry setting I can see where I would have a strong desire to be purchasing my own home, but in this context, I couldn’t be happier than I am in a parsonage!
We live in a parsonage in a small town in MO. Like you, I am so thankful that this is a benefit our church provides. For us, two reasons exist that the parsonage was a real need: 1) the cost of rent or mortgage would have been too much for us given the salary our church was able to offer (hubs is full-time); 2) we moved from another small-town and weren’t able to sell our house (it’s being rented out).
Also, though our parsonage is not new, it was remodeled prior to our occupancy. And an addition was built prior to the previous pastor’s occupancy.
I am a full-time solo pastor of a small church. My church is not experienced in the accounting side of pastor compensation. My wife is a former CPA and has helped to structure the compensation our church gives to maximize the benefit of the total compensation given by the church. This year we found that it was much cheaper to not have the church pay for health insurance anymore, but to just have them give more in salary and to use that to buy subsidized health insurance at the Marketplace.
We also do our own IRA as a retirement. We do mileage reimbursement as well.
When I started at my church 4 years ago, the church bought a house as a parsonage. There has been serious talk about building a new parsonage(and sell parsonage they bought). I have downplayed the idea of a new parsonage since I know it would imply a longer term commitment of being here. We wouldn’t want them to build a house as we wanted and then to leave soon after it was built. We may take them up on it in the next couple years though.
The area I am in is very rural and housing can be hard to find. A parsonage makes sense for the church since it would be easier to find a new pastor whenever they might need to again. Houses are almost always either from the 50s (or earlier) and from after 2000.
The Lutheran congregation I’ve served since 2011 built a brand-new three-bedroom parsonage in 2008. It was built in anticipation of calling a new pastor. The thought was that in a very remote location with high poverty rates, a parsonage would be attractive to a potential pastor. The house was built with quite a bit of denominational financial support. My only complaint is that it is so much larger than any other house in the neighborhood. I feel self-conscious about living in such splendor, but it is a beautiful residence, and makes serving here much more feasible.
A church near us did build a parsonage within the last 6-8 years. Their previous one caught on fire and they rebuilt when they hired a new pastor. I am in agreement that it’s better for the pastor to own his home but after living in this area for a year and half I can see where owning a parsonage here would be beneficial but it would require the church to do maintenance. The housing market here is crazy in that homes are expensive (or need to be gutted and remodeled before they are livable) but the work is sparse. We did buy a home but it’s been 4 months of remodeling and we’re still not living in it, which also means we’re paying to rent and a mortgage and utilities for two homes.