Why do you all think that churches just want your money? Not all are like that!?

Question

Why dont people realize churches need money to run. Who pays the electric, water, gas bill? The gas money in the church bus? The TP in the bathroom?

For those of you who say that churches just want your money, yes, that is true, SOME of the time. Tv preachers want your money... When you have to PAY to see someone preach, they want your money...

There is a church near us that bring in $180,000 a week. Its a large church. We bring in about 2,000 a week, if we are lucky... My pastor makes $55,000 a year... That is for a family of 4 (was 5, the oldest moved out). My question is, how can you say he is in it for the money? He makes a decent amount, but by no means TONS... Most people can make that working as a manager in retail somewhere. So why do you think all churches want your money, when there are plenty that DONT !!!

55,000 and pays OUT OF POCKET for insurence... We just gave him a little raise because his wife cant get insurence because of on going back problems (deteriorating disks at age 34) ... So we gave him a raise. And NO HIS MONEY ISNT TAX FREE... Whoever told you that LIED... My pastor pays taxes like the rest of us, it is his income.. The chuches money is, but NOT my pastors....

My pastor prays everyday for at least 2 hours, I know that for a fact, as does my husband... Sundays he preaches 2 messages.... Wednesdays 1... Tuesdays he teaches a class at the church to my husband who is going to be a missionary... thursdays is nursing home ministy, friday is visiting, saturday is visitation and studying for sunday.... My pastor works ALOT more then 3 days a week, and studys and prays for us everyday of the week.

Answer 1

To those who have made the comments about $55,000 being too much for a pastor based on the fact that a retail manager makes less...

consider that most retail managers don't go to school for a bachelor's degree and seminary.

Most pastors work a lot more than 3 days per week. A pastor is on call 24/7/365 and it's a job where he can lose it based on the behavior of his family. The pastor faces calls throughout the night, is constantly criticized, but expected to live on a pedestal. If they take their family any place besides a religious activity, they are judged. If they get a car donated to them, they are judged. If they have anything nice, they are judged.

My dad was a pastor who made $100 per week and was given a suit by someone who was tired of seeing my dad in a worn out suit - because we could not afford to replace the suit.. He was criticized for buying a new suit, but was asked to keep the name of the person that donated the suit to him confidential!!

There's a lot more to a pastor than simply getting up and speaking. It takes hours of research to prepare a sermon and the pastor has a lot of other duties to attend to in maintaining the church.

Yes, there are mega churches and they quite honestly turn my stomach because they make the honest and decent ministers look bad.

Answer 2

...Any rationally thinking person should be able to understand that money is needed for utilities in most any church assembly.
...RE a pastor's salary: Too often, the guiding principle behind a pastor's salary is this:
...Q. When is a pastor's salary too much?
...A. When he makes more than I make.
...I believe this can sometimes be said/believed out of envy, rather than righteous conviction.
...I live in the DC area and the cost of living is high. Historically we have paid our pastors well, so they can live here.
...When people declare, "They are in it for the money," they probably heard it somewhere and have not thought it through.
...In my opinion, there are only a small handful of TV/radio preachers who are true to Scripture and teach the Word of God accurately: the Day of Discovery folks, Dr. Charles Stanley, Dr. D. James Kennedy, Franklin Graham, Ravi Zacharias (particularly outstanding), Dr. J. Vernon McGee (now in Glory), and Preacher Joseph Brown. There are several other good ones.

Answer 3

i will agree with you on that not all churchs just want money my pastor was a school bus driver before he retired and he dosent even except money for him been the pastor our church trustees has offered to pay him and he told them no so not all churches are like that , now our church dose take up offering for those who want to donate it is used for utilitys,and sometimes the pastor will stand up and say it is for a person in need of some help , or that it is for the small childeren to go on a outting of some sort but the big big churchs is the ones that will say put your money in the plate and you will make it to heaven ,you can put as much money in the plate as you want but if you havent ask for forgiveness then your still going to go to he## i dont like that word but thats the way it is and that pastor of that church that has tought all those people wrong will also be accountable for all those souls that he taught that too

Answer 4

That's a good point and I agree with you 100%. If a minister is good at what he/she does, why shouldn't they make a good salary? Isn't that the way it goes? If a baseball player is very good at the game, doesn't he get paid very well too? But.. I know of ministers in smaller areas that have more than one church and congregation to care for. Most ministers do a lot more than preach. Most of them make what they call "sick call visitations" they go to the hospitals and/or homes of sick, disabled elderly, etc. and give them aid, the word of God, communion, etc . They preform weddings, funerals, teach classes, do counseling, involved in community affairs, prepare for sermons "usually 3 to 4 a week, and more. They write their sermons, they aren't written for them, and a sermon often takes days to write. As you said, most preachers don't make "mega bucks" They have bills to pay too. And, as you said, the church itself has bills just like any operation does.

Answer 5

What do you mean by Church? Catholic church? The Church (I am speaking of the Catholic Church) may seem to make a lot of money. But it spends it not only for a particular church in a particular place. It distribute the money to poor churches in poor and remote countries. It opens schools and hospitals too. In countries like Indonesia and other poor countries, the Church helps the reconstruction and rehabilitation programmes in disaster torn places such the tsunami hit Aceh and many other places.

It's true the chatholic run schools charge a fortune to afluent families in big cities, but it cross subsidise other poor kids too.

Answer 6

There are also salaries for the full time staff, missionaries who go to preach the word in other countries, funds for orphans and widows and church members and others who need help with job losses, deaths in the famlies, shelter and food.

As I see it there are bars, strip clubs, xxx movie houses and etc., where people give large amounts of money, that are almost totally profit and don't help anyone.

Answer 7

"Why dont people realize churches need money to run. Who pays the electric, water, gas bill? The gas money in the church bus? The TP in the bathroom?"

Jesus didn't need electricity, water, gas, a bus, or toilet paper to spread the "good news".

Anyways, if the church is the house of god, then god should pay the bills.

Answer 8

Unfortunately, a lot of churches have lost focus and are overambitious with raising money for themselves. Humans being humans, we tend to notice the bad more than the good, then stereotype the whole category.

Answer 9

55K a year....talk about over paid. To work 3 days a week! I'm in the wrong job. I know a certain production manager at a manufacturing plant who doesn't make that and for part-time work no less. Never mind the tax free money, house and car. It's sickening.

Answer 10

well in our church, we have over 3 thousand in attendance and we live in a wealthy area so there is always money coming in. Now I donate 50.00 a month cause its what I can do. OUr church uses money for the money programs and ministries that they go over seas for , we help the homeless, we have an education center. What we give comes back to us in the community. BUT I love your point.