Salary Guidelines

Salary guidelines

for eastern district professional church workers

Ministerial Health and Salary Guidelines

Salary Computation Worksheet – Compensation Decision Support Tool

Concordia Plan Services has provided the church with the following Compensation Decision Support Tools:

Using this tool, churches can create compensation estimates for positions including Sole Pastor, Senior Pastor, Associate Pastor, Director of Christian Education, Director of Christian Outreach, Deaconess, Director of Family Life Ministry, Director of Parish Music and Lay Minister.

The educator tool allows the user to create compensation estimates for positions including Teacher, Assistant Teacher, Head Principal/Administrator, Assistant Principal/Administrator and Early Childhood Director. Schools from preschools and child care centers all the way through high schools can use the tool.

Both of these tools take into consideration differing costs of living across our district. That cost of living differential is computed when you enter your United States Postal Service zip code. If your congregation is a member of Concordia Plan Services, simply enter your church/school zip code into the computation tool.

If your congregation/school is not a member of Concordia Plan Services, utilize the chart (right) to identify the zip code affiliated with the Circuit in which your ministry is located.

To Utilize the CPS Compensation Decision Support Tool

1. For the clergy and parish professional tool, click here.

For the educator tool, click here.

2. For BOTH sites, enter the User ID: CPS; and then enter the Password: CPS;

3. Click on “Compensation Estimate” at the top of the page;

4. Chose the desired vocational category from the choices provided;

5. Enter the zip code for your circuit (below) in the box above the “SUBMIT” button;

6. Follow directions, making choices as directed.

guiding principles for salary planning

A salary committee has prepared these guidelines that we believe you will find helpful as you begin the salary planning process. While guidelines are never prescriptive, they can be suggestive of an approach that can be used to review the compensation you are providing your professional workers. We hope that these guidelines will assist congregations in providing the proper level of financial and personal support to all of the professional church workers in the Eastern District, so that:

God will be glorified
The ministries of the congregation will be empowered
A sense of appreciation and fulfillment will be conveyed

The approach taken by these guidelines is intended to provide adequate compensation to professional church workers. Adequate compensation is viewed as a level of compensation that provides for the physical and spiritual well being of the worker and the worker’s family. It is intended that this level of compensation will release the worker from undue financial concern, thus allowing the worker to give full devotion and attention to the ministries assigned.

Congregations are encouraged to develop a ministry description for each professional church worker that includes a listing of the worker’s responsibilities and expected levels of performance. As a minimum there should be open communication regarding the ministries within a congregation and regular feedback regarding effectiveness. An annual performance review, whether formal or informal, is strongly encouraged. The worker and the congregation are best served when expectations are commonly known and regular communication is the norm rather than the exception.

Eastern District

5111 Main Street, Williamsville, NY 14221

(716)634-5111

Office Hours: 8:30am-4:30pm Mon. - Thurs.