![]() ![]() No, those pastors aren’t draining the church dry, it’s just that in some situations the church may not have a building or other overhead, so everything that goes through the official budget pays the pastor’s meager salary, while all ministry expenses are done off-book. There are healthy small churches in which no money goes to staffing costs at all (house churches and bivocational pastors, for instance), and healthy small churches where every dollar in the budget goes to pay the pastor’s salary. ![]() While 45 to 55 percent of budget going to staff is healthy for mid-size to larger churches, the range is much wider for small churches. But those percentages mean nothing in most small churches because the smaller the church, the more likely you are to fall into the “every church is different” part that they mentioned. This is good advice, based on years of experience and sound stewardship principles. These ministries may be in a danger zone.” We’ve seen churches that have gone as high as 65 to 70 percent… (but) these higher percentages raise red flags. One of them, from a very good church consulting ministry, acknowledges that while “…every church is different,” their team “…generally encourages churches to try to stay in the range of 45 to 55 percent of total budget. While large churches spend their time balancing percentages, designing requisition sheets, and tracking an increase or decrease of giving as one measurement of the church’s health, small churches deal with an entirely different set of issues.įor instance, I just Googled “what percentage of a church budget should be salary?” and I found several helpful articles. With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.Big churches and small churches design their budgets very differently. How does this latest research compare to your church or to trends you are seeing in other congregations? Let me hear from you. This perspective seems to be a major shift from the days of all church members pouring over every dollar given to every staff person for salaries, benefits, and expense reimbursements. ![]() About 81 percent of churches limit visibility of specific salaries to a board, a subcommittee, or senior staff.It does not include school staff if the church has or sponsors a school. Those numbers count all staff, including pastors, assistants, custodians, and others. For every 76 persons in average worship attendance, churches have the equivalent of one full-time staff person. The attendance-to-staff ratio is 76:1.I would surmise that much of that decline is coming from efficiencies gained from outsourcing. It would appear that overall church staffing costs are declining. I am comparing that to my own earlier data that shows church staffing costs to be 54% of budget. To be clear, the number of 49% comes from the Leadership Network/Vanderbloemen Search Group research. Overall church staffing costs have declined to 49 percent of the budget.Ongoing writing and publications ( Ellipsis).Bookkeepers/financial assistants ( MAG Bookkeeping).Administrative assistants/secretaries ( EAHelp).Here are some of the more common church staff outsourcing I have found with an example of each (affiliate links included): Leaders are increasingly becoming aware that many typical employee functions are not part of the core that makes a church unique. As I have noted in other articles, outsourcing is a major trend in churches. One third of the churches increased the outsourcing of staff over the past five years.But, in reality, those sources of income are very small compared to congregational giving. Some churches receive funds from leasing facilities, from schools that are in the church’s building, or from investments and endowments. Only two percent of the churches’ budgets are funded outside congregational giving.Other growing churches may be more likely to reach younger families with lower incomes. But growing churches often reach new Christians who have not established healthy giving patterns. At first glance, this information seems surprising. Growing churches pay their pastors and staff slightly less than declining churches.Here are six of those surprises or changes: And though the data I’ve collected in the past may not compare perfectly with the research of this latest study, the contrasts are, at the very least, instructional and interesting. It is rich with helpful information.Īs I read the study, I looked for surprises or changes in patterns from what I have been seeing in recent years. I have been poring over the data of the study recently released by Leadership Network and Vanderbloemen Search Group. The new research on church staff salaries and budgets is amazing. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |