Protestant pastors have seen their pay jump 25 percent in the past 10 years, but the $40,000-a-year average still falls far behind many other professional salaries. Pastors' earnings remained just about even with the U.S.' rising cost of living, according to a national survey by the Barna Research Group.

"Like most professionals, pastors work long hours, carry heavy responsibility and have extensive education," said George Barna, whose Ventura, Calif., research firm tracks Christian trends.

Barna's survey included telephone interviews in May with 601 senior pastors of Protestant churches nationwide. Churches were chosen randomly within each denomination.

"It's nice to see the average wage finally break the $40,000 ceiling," Barna said. "Given the compensation levels received by other professionals, we owe pastors a special word of gratitude for the sacrificial lifestyle."

Pastors' salaries range from less than $25,000 annually to $110,000 for pastors of some mega-churches, according to the National Association of Church Business Administration.

Corporate executives earn 38 percent more than most ministers, according to Barna, and public school administrators - such as principals of large schools or superintendents - receive 88 percent more. Those percentages refer only to a professional's salary; the pastoral compensation figures often include housing allowances and other benefits such as health insurance.

The salary differences can make for stressed pastors, church consultant Gary McIntosh said.

"Pastors don't go into the ministry because of pay, and generally pastors will downplay its significance," he said. "But there's no doubt inadequate salaries create a lot of stress, particularly for a pastor's spouse."

McIntosh, who wrote a pastoral compensation guide in the early 1990s, said pastors' spouses don't receive the same daily encouragement pastors often get. A spouse's financial worries can carry over to the pastor and take away from a focus on ministry.

"In the U.S., we tie our salaries to a certain amount of respect and appreciation for what we're doing," McIntosh said. "(Pastors) may not see it directly, but they can read an inadequate salary as a non-appreciation of their ministry.

"If this happens over a number of years consistently, they begin to question whether the congregation appreciates them."

Keeping up with the times

McIntosh, a former pastor who now teaches at Southern California's Talbot School of Theology and runs the Church Growth Network, said Barna's study deals with a serious issue.

"Most church leaders and laypeople don't keep up with pastoral salaries unless they're searching for a pastor, then they immediately become aware and will adjust the pay scale to get a qualified person," he said. "The danger is that they tend not to give significant raises. Gradually, the pastor gets deeper and deeper behind other professionals when it comes to salary.

"A pastor's best option then to get more pay is to go to a new church," McIntosh said.

Even so, compensation is not often a deciding factor on whether a pastor leads a flock or leaves it, he said.

Not what it appears

While some denominations - including Lutheran, Episcopal and Methodist - issue salary guidelines, pastors' salaries are left up to the local congregation, most of whom have no background in salary or personnel issues, McIntosh said.

"A lack of knowledge is, in many cases, what makes this such a crucial issue," he said.

For instance, most churches list pastors' salaries as a single line item in the budget, which might indicate a pastor receives $40,000. Many church members don't realize that out of that $40,000 comes expenses for life insurance, health insurance, and perhaps a car allowance or book allowance, McIntosh said.

"When it appears a pastor might be getting $40,000, you have to go deeper," he said. "He may only end up with $33,000 in cash to live on after deducting costs for things that in the secular world are in addition to a base salary."

McIntosh sees more churches taking the lead of larger congregations and including separate line items for each part of pastoral compensation. Church members get a better feel for what the pastor is actually paid if they see it broken down, he said.

Poor pay for a pastor can lead to other church staff suffering pay inadequacies. Churches are reluctant to pay staff members more than a pastor or to give raises equal to or higher than the pastor receives, McIntosh said. If a pastor isn't receiving appropriate pay or raises, it stands to reason the staff is in even worse shape, he said.

A different approach

McIntosh said churches tend to take one of four approaches in determining a pastor's pay:

• Flat-rate Method: Most often used in the small church of fewer than 200 members, leaders tend to pick an arbitrary salary.
• Comparable Worth Method: Church leaders look at a pastor's education, experience and responsibility and compare that with local salaries for professions with similar criteria. In this situation, pastors are commonly compared to teachers or other educators. Senior pastors at large churches, for instance, might be compared to the principal of a large high school.
• Experience & Role Method: Similar to secular work environments, churches pay a pastor based on his experience, education and responsibilities.
• Base Salary Method: Common in large churches with multiple staff, all employees start off with the same base salary. The pay is increased then based on a person's experience, education and responsibilities. Some churches also offer more money based on the number of children a pastor or staff member has at home.

Big issues for small churches

Rural churches face the largest challenges, McIntosh said. The median income for full-time rural pastors is less than $33,000, according to Barna's research. McIntosh believes it takes at least 150 adult worshippers in regular attendance to pay an adequate salary including benefits.

"The issue becomes ‘Can small churches really afford to have a full-time pastor?'" McIntosh said. "Unless both spouses are working, maybe not. Churches will have to deal with that issue."