DALLAS — A question frequently asked by church finance committees, personnel committees, pastors, administrators and search committees is “How does our salary range compare with what other churches are paying?” By the middle of June, 2008 figures for salaries and benefit packages based on survey results will be available. Every two years such information is gathered through a survey of ministers and church employees through the joint efforts of Baptist state conventions, LifeWay Christian Resources and GuideStone Financial Resources.
Through the survey, church administrators, personnel and finance committees and minister search teams have access to an accurate baseline by which they can compare their own church's salary and benefits with churches of similarly sized budgets and memberships across the country. Two years ago, every state convention participated in the survey, which included results from more than 7,000 churches and 17,000 individuals.
Since the reliability of the information depends on the number of people responding to the survey, every minister and employee is encouraged to take the 2008 survey online at www.LifeWay.com/ compensation survey.
Answers to the online survey are kept confidential and are not reported individually. The survey takes, on average, less than 10 minutes to complete. Information needed when taking the survey includes salary and benefit information, the church's average weekly worship or Bible study attendance, resident membership and annual budget.
LifeWay and GuideStone are pooling resources to provide the online survey, compile the data and make available an online reporting tool for users to access results. The survey is available through mid-April and results will be released by the middle of June.
Southern Baptist church ministers and employees may complete the survey through April 15. For staff at churches without Internet access, a paper copy of the survey may be obtained by calling Raymond Cady at 1-800-ALL BGAV (1-800-255-2428 ext. 5293) or by contacting GuideStone Financial Resources at 1-888-98-GUIDE (1-888-984-8433).