It’s Time to Check on Your Professional Church Workers

As I put groceries away this past week, I considered how little I was putting away for the two hundred dollars I’d spent at the store. Years ago, I was a single Lutheran school teacher drowning in the student loans that enabled me to become a church worker. Standing in my pantry, I thought of the tiny apartments I could barely afford. There’s no way that I would be “okay” in today’s economy. I no longer work as a Lutheran teacher, but am married to a Lutheran pastor. The only reason we are “okay” today is because, years ago, we worked really hard to become debt free. Just after I had these thoughts, another pastor’s wife posted in a private group asking for advice. They’re not making it financially. Three years ago, they were scraping by, but not anymore. Please, friends. It’s time to check on your professional church workers.

THE LUTHERAN CHURCH MISSOURI SYNOD (LCMS) DISTRICT SCALE

In the LCMS (my church denomination), there are regional districts across the country. Each district provides its own “District Scale,” which is a compensation guideline based on the area cost of living. It is widely understood by congregations that these numbers are recommendations, not requirements. It is “recommended” that a church worker not be paid below scale. The scale is then meant to be a minimum for compensation standards.

Regardless of the intention, some church workers fall well below their district’s scale. Sometimes this is because the position never met scale. At other times, it is because the church worker was hired years ago, at scale, but raises have not been given to “keep up” with scale as it increases with years of experience and/or inflation. (Just to illustrate this point, my first teaching position in 2002 paid around $30,000. When I quit teaching in 2013, more than ten years later, I was only making around $32,000 with a master’s degree.)

The truth is that compensation in our synod can be wildly different from one church worker, or one region, to the next. It’s also true that even a church worker who is paid at scale or above scale may still be suffering in this economy. Years of experience matter greatly when it comes to the projected outcome of district scale. Also, it is staggeringly expensive to become a rostered employee of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Some feel this factor more than others.

THE COST OF A CHURCH WORKER’S EDUCATION

I graduated from Concordia University, Nebraska, in 2002. Back then, the cost to receive an education and Lutheran Teacher’s Certificate was around $80,000. Today, it is more than $180,000. Even with some guaranteed financial aid, a significant portion of church workers come out of our synodical schools carrying an unhealthy amount of debt. While seminary tuition is guaranteed at Concordia St. Louis, there are additional expenses which are not covered. Both my husband and I carried a heavy load of educational debt when we married.

While I would love to see this change synod-wide, I write here about the cost of education so that everyone might understand the financial weight that is carried by many professional church workers. There is a large gap between the cost of an LCMS education and the expected salary upon completion of said education.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “CHECK ON YOUR PROFESSIONAL CHURCH WORKERS”?

IF YOU’RE IN A POSITION OF LEADERSHIP:

I believe that your ability to “check on your professional church workers” depends on the relationship that you have with them. If you hold a position of leadership within your church, compare your church worker’s salary to district scale. Is your church keeping up with the minimum recommendation? If not, why not? What can be done to fairly compensate the worker who gives so much of their life to the church? If the church worker is paid below scale, perhaps the wider congregation needs to be made aware of the issue so that a financial push can be made to right the situation. Do you know the amount of student debt carried by your church worker?

IF YOU’VE CULTIVATED A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP:

If you have a more personal relationship with a church worker, ask directly. “Is your family okay financially? Are you making it in this economy?” Hopefully your relationship is then strong enough for the worker to speak truth vulnerably.

If you don’t feel comfortable asking this question directly, look for ways that you can help the church worker. This might be a weekly gift of produce from your garden. Maybe it’s a portion of a cow that your family raised or purchased in bulk. It could be a gift card to a grocery store or gas station. Maybe you offer to watch their children so that the church worker and spouse can enjoy a few hours away from home. (Babysitting is a luxury most can’t afford.) I’ve met several church workers who have been gifted financial aid by church members to help pay down student loans.

There are many, many ways in which you can offer aid to your church workers. Some cost only your time, but all are greatly valued and appreciated. Just asking the question helps your workers to feel seen. That in itself may help to lift the mental weight of financial burden.

THE MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF CHURCH WORKERS

Church work can be a draining profession, be it for teachers or pastors or other church professionals. The hours often extend well beyond a forty hour work week. The work enters the home at all hours of day and night. It’s always present. Financial compensation is often well below an equivalent career in the secular work-force. And yet church workers do it anyway. They love the Lord and the people they serve within their church. Church workers willingly make these personal sacrifices. They are called to the positions in which they serve. They honor this calling.

I am not writing this article as a cry for help. My husband’s compensation is fair. My family is out of debt. We budget and plan for every dollar. We are making it. Other church workers are not. This weighs heavily on the mental health and wellbeing of the these workers. It puts strain on marital relationships and the worker’s physical health. Crushing financial hardship can even cause one to question their calling. If a church worker cannot provide for the family the Lord has given, is the calling “right” for that individual?

This article is not a cry for personal help, but it is a cry for help. Please look to your own church workers. Help where and when you can. If nothing else, lift them up in prayer. Pray that God would lift their financial burdens. Pray that your congreation may fully support the mental health and wellbeing of your church worker.

FINAL TAKE AWAY

If you’re able, financially support your professional church workers. At least let them know that you care. Let them know that they’re seen. Make it known that their family’s wellbeing is important to you.

If a financial burden is present, lift it however you can.

Love your church workers. Pray for them.

Having spent a life in church work, I can say that God has provided for all my needs and all the needs of my family. Most often, he does this through the people in his church. These are ordinary people like you. Your simple thoughtfulness and/or wildly extravagant generosity are both more valued than you could ever know.