It is incumbent on churches to care for their pastor and staff. In Luke 10:7 we read, “…the labourer is worthy of his hire.” As finance committees are working to prepare budgets for next year, there are various resources available to help ensure the compensation afforded to pastors and staff keeps up with increases in cost of living. While this has not been as big of an issue over the past few decades, record inflation over the past two years should compel churches to address this important issue head on.
Correctly budgeting a cost-of-living adjustment can be daunting, especially for small-to-midsize churches assessing compensation for their staff — but it's important and should be calculated into salaries annually.
The attached resource from Church Salary provides answers to common questions about cost of living, COLA, and COLI — and how they impact church salaries. Further, Church Salary provides a plethora of additional resources to aid churches in establishing fair and equitable compensation levels for their staff. Their website is churchsalary.com.
Another resource we have used for BMA national departments is Philip Blount & Associates of Atlanta, Georgia. They have a broad understanding of religious non-profits and churches, and can provide valuable data to help organizations seeking to firm up their compensation policies. Their website is phillipblount.com.