Why do pastors and others working for church make so much money?

Question

Shouldn't they be living off like $30,000 a year and preaching out of the goodness of their hearts?

Senior Pastor -- $77k
Associate Pastor -- $64k
Music Choir Director -- $60k
Administrator -- $53k
Christian Education Director -- $52k
Youth Pastor -- $50k

http://www.mmiblog.com/monday_morning_insight_we/2005/09/how_much_do_you.html


Sorry forgot the link.

gobears... you can read the bible for yourself, why is their job more important? Not to mention I don't think their job is the most important by far. Also, you really show what a great asset you are to your religion by adding insults to your answer.

Kristen you are wrong. I know plenty of pastors that "go to lunch" or what have you. They do have lives outside the church you know.

Answer 1

well considering that Jesus told his followers to not accept money for their preaching it seems pretty obvious they are major hypocrits.

instead of tithing, why don't people give money to those who need it?

Answer 2

It is the will of God that the Pastor / Preacher be taken care of more than anyone else on the staff of the church (this is in the Bible I just can't find the scripture right now. See my source). The church that God put together also has Elders which must hold the Pastor accountable and Deacons which must assist the Pastor. But every time a Pastor does his job and preaches, a multitude of people are being ministered to. People getting saved & people being helped is the most important thing the church can do.

Answer 3

I can tell you that the last three pastors etc. that I had did not make near what you are describing here.
Can you live on $30,000 a year and take care of a family of 4 plus a wife. Most of them have to purchase their own houses or rent their own houses. Most of them don't have medical benefits etc.
If they have to be available to their congregations 24/7 plus be in a church fulltime, how do you suggest they support their families. If you read in several areas of the Bible (both old and new testament) you will find that it was God's rule that you give a person who is in ministry an income etc.
Now saying all that, some pastors (look at many tele evangelist) who are all about the money. You can tell who they are by the gold that flashes of their gold rings and fancy suits as well as their inaccurate preaching of the word.
The pastors I know have earned little of nothing and have out of the goodness of their hearts preached the truth because their treasure lies in heaven and not earth. But the people who have not assisted in their income will answer to God for their disobedience of the Word of God.

Answer 4

Most senior pastors have advanced degrees, at least a master's, some with doctorates. Now, how much does a PhD or MD make? Pastors still make house calls.

Too many people think that folks in church work only on Sundays. I know of many pastors and church workers who rarely get a day off. Someone with a tragedy in the family, or some other incident occurs, and people are on the phone to their pastor. He ends up going to them.

Frankly, the salaries that you listed are the exception, not the rule, in churches around the nation. Most congregations in the U.S. have 50-80 families. Hardly enough to pay the salaries you just quoted. Granted, there are some larger churches where they can afford them, but not many, in the overall scheme of things.

According to the Barna Group, pastors' median salaries are about $40,077. Those pastors in larger churches naturally get better salaries, while those with under 100 adult attendees make 50% less than those of larger churches.

So, you gave one example of salaries, but that was on the extremely generous side of the equation, and not nearly the norm.

Answer 5

I've kind of wondered the same thing myself. I used to work for a Christian dating service and would talk to many ministers, youth pastors, ect and one of the questions I would have to ask is "what is your annual income" and you'd be amazed at some of the responses. I was. Another thing I was just mentioning to a friend of mine the other day, is WHY are some churches so large and extravagant? It's a place of worship, not the Hilton hotel. Couldn't that money that was paid to high salary architects, ect..be better spent helping the homeless or doing missionary work to build a church in a foreign country? I live in a pretty large city, and some of the churches we have here, have congregations of over 50-75 THOUSAND people. They do evangelism and broadcast their sermons on television. Ok, is all that really necessary? I understand the concept of "spreading the word" and all that, but those things take MONEY and TIME and people with the EXPERIENCE to do it. Couldn't all that effort be better spent OUTSIDE the walls of the church? It just seems like it defeats the purpose to me. These people are already IN church. Why are you spending all this time and money on "refresher" courses when there's people out there that really NEED help?

Answer 6

Luk 10:7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.

1Ti 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.
1Ti 5:18 For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain," and, "The laborer deserves his wages."

it is perfectly legitimate and even expected that a pastor or elder be compensated for the service he is giving the church. This helps him be the best pastor he can be.

Act 6:2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.
Act 6:3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.
Act 6:4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."

however, exactly how much a pastor makes will be determined on what the church can reasonably afford, what the standard of living is like where they are at, etc. if a pastor is living on a standard far above his congregation, there is something wrong. the basis should be how much is needed for their needs to be met and to live comfortably.

Answer 7

Back when I was a church-going person, I was heavily involved in the "business." I know pastors are always paid well when possible, but I don't recall anyone else making that much -- depending on the church, of course. Though any church that can afford an "associate pastor" can probably afford to pay everyone generously.

I don't mind what religious leaders make as much as I mind the pay raises senators and representatives give themselves. At least pastors are paid out of money that has been given freely.

Answer 8

Holy crow! I did not know this.

Roman Catholic priests take a vow of poverty. They don't have possessions or take a salary. Of course they do take donations to run the churchs which includes food for them and people donate and buy them clothes. That being said I realize that thr RCC is one of the most wealthy organizations on the planet.

I think for ofther Chrisitan sects, i believe you can be a pastor yet have families. So if you had a wife and child to support thet $77,000 won't go too far...I mean, depending where you live in the country you could afford a house and food and clothes and send the kids to school but it's not an extravagent salary. No?

Wow! I learn something new every day!

Thanks!
Billy!

Answer 9

Well, i can tell you right off the bat that MOST pastors do NOT make that. Those statistics are probably from one of those mega churches that have more people in attendance each Sunday then the total number of people living in my town! there are many more small churches than the mega churches, therefore, MOST pastors do NOT make that much. And in many of the smaller churches, the music director, admin., education director and youth pastor are mostly volunteer... Please, people, check out the MAJORITY before you criticize us because of the minority!

& like it's been mentioned, they're salaries are made up out of the tithe of the congregation. so, again, the facts you pulled out are probably (if they're even true) from a mega church.

Answer 10

Let me qualify this by saying that although I am Christian, I don't go to church, and don't have any desire to. Nevertheless, the salaries you show there don't seem inflated or exorbitant to me. I have nothing against people who work hard getting paid for it.

What I have a problem with is the salaries of these so called "pastors" who spend more time on TV, book tours, fundraisers, and political events than they do working with actual people in need. There are way too many pastors more concerned with increasing the size of their church, or wanting to build Christian mega entertainment complexes, than following the teachings of Christ.

What would Jesus think about that?

Answer 11

people keep on rambling about their job being so difficult and important are idiots. These pastors can easily enter training even without a highschool education. They enter their priesthood easily by doing a few preaching and get ordained. Many other scientists who spend years getting a PHD make less or equal than this. A person working at McDonalds works harder than these old fools, and they make squat. The pastors are definitely corrupt and ruining it everyone. Their jobs are not demanding and they get all the benefits they need.