Church Staff Compensation Study and Reports

Hosted by GuideStone Financial Resources, BGAV's primary partner for
church financial services, the 2012 SBC Compensation Survey will be open through June 30, 2012.

Please participate in the survey – it takes just a few minutes, and your help is invaluable! Ministers, secretaries, and maintenance/custodial staff are invited to participate.

Customized reports on survey results will be available online by late summer in 2012, and allow administrators, personnel/finance committees and minister search teams to better determine adequate compensation for ministers and staff.

Accordingly, a higher number of survey participants lead to a more accurate baseline of compensation. That can be essential information for thousands of churches, including your own, which makes the survey worth the five to eight minutes it takes to complete. 

Click here to take the 2012 survey!

Access Results of 2010 Compensation Study

Results of the 2010 Compensation Study are still available at for use by churches until the 2012 survey results are complete, and posted online. Since this survey is now two years old, churches should adjust figures to adjust for changes in the cost of living since 2010.

This study was a joint project of state Baptist conventions, GuideStone Financial Resources, and LifeWay Christian Resources. Compensation and congregational data was collected anonymously from ministers and office/custodial personnel of Southern Baptist churches and church–type missions. Reports are based on compensation for nearly 12,000 respondents from all 50 states.

While this data is made available with respect for the autonomy of each local church, the information can help a church be objective in considering appropriate staff compensation.

A key feature of this study is the customized report, which provides reports for only those churches of similar attendance, membership, and budget to your own.

To access the report, visit: LifeWay.com/compensationsurvey.

For help, please refer to the study's Frequently Asked Questions.

For more information, please contact Jeff Cranford.