For survey participants, the CTi research department used a random sample of a thousand LEADERSHIP subscribers. Each was mailed a survey and, two weeks later, a reminder post card. Some 49 percent responded. Since CTi survey responses are typically 26 percent, this survey apparently touched a nerve.
Respondents were 87 percent clergy and 13 percent lay. Of the clergy respondents:
-98 percent are male
-97 percent are married
-67 percent have children at home (households average 3.6 members, compared to 2.7 nationally)
-94 percent have finished college, 78 percent have a graduate degree, and 18 percent have a doctorate (19 percent of U.S. adults are college graduates)
-average age is about 43
-18 percent serve urban churches, 39 percent suburban, 32 percent small-town, and 11 percent rural
-average Sunday worship attendance is 301; 49 percent have between 50 and 200, 6 percent fewer than 50; and 45 percent greater than 200
-average number of years in ministry is 16.5
-43 percent are solo pastors, 41 percent head a staff, 15 percent serve on staffs, and 1 percent are retired
As we began to analyze the survey results, we discovered something pastors, denominations, and the IRS have found: pastors’ compensation is hard to compare.
Problem 1: Some pastors live in a parsonage; some own their homes and receive a housing allowance. Some receive neither a parsonage nor an allowance. Is it fair to compare cash salaries apart from housing considerations? And how does one arrive at the value to a pastor of rent-free parsonage living?
To equalize the two situations for the sake of comparison, we chose to add $750 a month to the cash salary of pastors living in parsonages. This figure, approximating the average rental value, is, unfortunately, highly subjective. Each parsonage, depending on size, location, and condition, would be different. The average selling price for homes nationwide the first four months of 1988 was $109,725. By real estate rule of thumb, rental on those homes would be around $1000 a month. Fair-market rent for three-bedroom apartments is around $700 a month. So we set a conservative value of $750 a month, or $9000 a year, as the average equivalent value of a parsonage. This somewhat arbitrary figure allows us, however, to compute a benchmark compensation figure for both homeowners and parsonage dwellers.
Problem 2: Fringe benefit packages differ widely. Some pastors get none. Others have ample packages. So how do we arrive at a fair average?
We decided to total the various perks each pastor received and find the average amount for the whole pool-those who receive benefits and those who get none. When added to the average salary and housing allowance (or parsonage value), that gives a better average compensation figure. It could be misleading to average the benefits of only those who receive them and then add that total into the compensation package.
Problem 3: The concepts of remuneration and reimbursement merge in many minds. Should a book allowance be listed in the budget with salaries and benefits or with such items as office utility bills and stationery expenses? Is a car allowance part of a pastor’s compensation or an operating expense for the church?
For purposes of this study, we chose not to consider reimbursements for professional expenses a part of the remuneration package. Allowances for such items as transportation (car), books and magazines, continuing education, entertainment, memberships, and conferences merely reimburse the pastor for out-of-pocket expenses incurred while doing the work of the church.
Since such reimbursements are important-and sometimes forgotten at budget time-we sought reimbursement information on the survey. But adding these numbers to salary and benefits to determine “what the pastor makes” would cause the total to appear incorrectly high.
Copyright © 1988 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.
