Here are five things to consider as you plan your pastor’s salary. It’s hard to minister in this context without becoming resentful.
The pastor will see that he is being treated with contempt and that the church is not properly honoring God. A church that is cheap with their pastor will suffer the consequences. Their pastor should see that they are being generous (Galatians 6:6-8) and not stingy. So each church, no matter its size, should do everything in their power to ensure that their pastor is fully supplied (Philippians 4:18). A church that is not obedient to God cannot expect God’s blessing on their mission. In my previous article, I explained that how you pay your pastor is a gospel issue that has impact on the effectiveness of your church and its mission. This may not eliminate all the financial stress your pastor faces, but it can ensure your church is doing everything they can to help. In this article, we will explore how much you should pay your pastor and some of the guidelines you can use to do it well. Finding your churches church’s position using this list provides the needed insight into a healthy budget range and puts you on track to create a healthy church budget.Five things to consider when determining a pastor’s salary.įinancial pressure is one of the main sources of stress among pastors. This list is not exhaustive but is a good start to determine what your church facility needs to remain clean and safe and create an inviting atmosphere for people to gather and worship. Use the prior year’s bills to project future use. Utilities – Electricity, natural gas, water, internet connectivity, etc., all come due each month.Think beyond just insurance for damage to the facility coverage should include fraud, misconduct, and protection for the officers. Insurance – I could have never imagined making an insurance claim for snow damage in our Southern California desert church location, but we did.COVID taught all of us the importance of using the right cleaner in the right places. Custodial – No one wants to use a dirty bathroom that is inadequately stocked.Safety – This category should include fire alarms, fire extinguishers, background checks, security systems, outdoor lighting, etc.Maintenance is not cheap but will pay for itself with the right vendor. The best way to maximize the life of an HVAC unit is with quarterly maintenance. Mechanical (HVAC) – The average life span of an HVAC unit is approximately 15 years.These are all factors on the facilities budget. Think about the paint on the curbs and parking spaces, leaking sprinklers, or dying trees and shrubs. Landscape – First impressions are so important, and like it or not, the parking lot is part of that impression.Repair / Maintenance – The facility’s age and location are significant factors in ensuring enough funds are budgeted to keep up on everything from touch-up paint to door replacements.Mortgage – If your church carries a mortgage, this likely takes up a significant portion of the facility’s budget and will put your church further up the scale.Understanding the line items that fit in the Facilities budget helps clarify the spread. The variance in the range accounts for the different needs and unique situations of each church. That is a pretty big spread, right? For a church with a $500,000 annual budget, the facilities portion could range from $100,000 to $200,000. A healthy church budget for facilities should range between 20-40% of the entire budget. There is an entire post dedicated to church budget percentages, but this post focuses on budgeting for the facility. If your church is outside the range, does that make it unhealthy? In the same way, being within the healthy percentage does not necessarily mean your church is healthy. Let’s start by acknowledging this is a loaded topic. Here are a couple of considerations to keep in mind: Healthy Church Percentages There is tension in determining how much funding is required to create a safe, clean, and distraction-free place to worship and still move forward on the mission. No wonder so many church financial teams are wondering how much of the church budget should go toward the facility. And all too often, the donations are not keeping up to feed the facility monster and fund ministry. The safety, maintenance, utilities, mortgage, insurance, etc., are ever-increasing line items on a budget. The church must provide adequate funding for what is arguably its most valuable asset after people. This disparity brings additional tension to the budgeting process. That means your church has more equity locked into the value of your property and facility than it has in liquid assets. If your church carries a mortgage, chances are your church is like many homeowners in Southern California, house rich and cash poor.
0 kommentar(er)
