FRANKLIN — The Tennessee Baptist Mission Board has teamed up with GuideStone Financial Resources, Lifeway Research and other Baptist state conventions for the SBC Church Compensation Survey.
Results of the survey, which is conducted every two years, will be available in early fall, in time for many churches considering their 2025 budgets.
Churches of all sizes can utilize the survey’s results to determine comparable wages and benefits. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete at GuideStone.org/CompensationSurvey. The survey started on April 1 and goes through the end of June.
“The SBC Church Compensation Survey provides a snapshot of what churches across our Convention are doing in paying their pastors and other church staff members,” GuideStone president Hance Dilbeck said.
Dilbeck
“We want to make sure that churches understand their responsibility to pay the right wage the right way, and so taking this information when it’s available and following best compensation practices will go a long way to help pastors as they seek to be financially secure and resilient servants to the Lord’s churches.”
Roger “Sing” Oldham, pastor engagement specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, agreed.
“In the same passage where Jesus reminded the 70 to ask the Lord ‘to send out laborers into the harvest; (Luke 10:2), he reminded them that ‘the laborer is worthy of his wages’ (Luke 10:7),” Oldham observed. “The survey assists churches by sharing information about meeting the financial needs of pastors and staff so they can best serve the church without distraction.”
He noted that GuideStone’s ability to provide this service “depends on churches like yours providing confidential information to assist you and your sister churches across Tennessee.
“We need every church, regardless of size or whether served by full time or bivocational pastors and staff to complete the survey,” Oldham said.
He said completing the survey will help other churches but it is especially useful and is the primary source “that helps your own church’s personnel and budget committees review adequate compensation for your church staff.
Oldham
Churches can get customized information based on size and comparable budgets from the submitted data,” he said, stressing that all submissions are fully confidential and will not be reported individually or shared with others.
“Because of your participation, the GuideStone Church Compensation Guide is the gold-standard churches turn to when reviewing compensation for all paid church staff,” Oldham said.
Lifeway Research will compile the results once the survey closes on June 30. Survey respondents will receive advance notice of the survey’s availability.
Respondents should have the church’s average weekly attendance, membership, and 2024 annual budget.
Additional information needed to complete the survey is the employees’ yearly salary, the church’s annual contributions to a retirement plan, annual church-paid insurance premiums, annual housing allowance, Social Security offset, and the rental value and utilities for church-provided housing.
Southern Baptist church ministers and staff have until June 30 to complete the online survey. B&R — This article includes reporting by Roy Hayhurst of GuideStone.
