I know many pastors who have been forced to get part-time or full-time jobs, or their wives are obligated to work at a full-time career in order to supplement the family income. This was true even before the economic downturn ? due to declining churches.

I the vice-chair for the General Assembly Mission Council of the PCUSA. Here is a link to what I’ll be dealing with this week: Click Here.
Also our congregation lost its pastor last year and we have an interim. Then the economic crisis hit. Yesterday we had a congregational meeting after church where we were informed of our status. In short, positions are almost certainly going to be eliminated or reduced even as others folks have been asked to give more.

the reality at our church is that the financial crisis cost my pastor husband his job as assistant – the position was eliminated altogether. he has already received another call, but i’m sure there are others who are experiencing it just as personally without the benefit of a diocese or synod working on their behalf for placement.

I just spoke with a PW friend whose husband and son are both on the same staff. They keep a 3 month buffer of funds on hand at their church, but it didn’t occur to her until our discussion that the situation could hurt one or both of them…because now, in this day and age, 3 months seems a short amount of time to turn around nonprofit giving.
I also remember in the distant past churches who ran their budgets on a “zero budget,” where they were instructed as a governing body to “spend what the Lord brought in.” It was policy. I just don’t know how those groups would survive if they were not protecting themselves with some sort of “savings” of funds. With health insurance costs and cost of living seeming to stay steady, and with a decline in giving, how will churches pastors and their families?

oops, correction: how will churches support pastors and their families?

I took a job with a seminary in January and am doing both half-time. It is a change after being full-time at the congregation for seven years.
I’m a bit pessimistic that the overall picture (not mine in particular, but the national scene) will improve much when the economy recovers. Religious decline seems all but certain. Big-box churches will make things look okay for a while, but the large numbers in small to medium churches will keep declining and moving into the big-box churches.
My guess, affected by and in agreement with iMonk’s series of articles on the soon implosion of evangelicalism, is that some seminaries will fail or go to online school status and fewer people will make their living by pastoring.
I speak in 40-50 churches a year and most pastors make a low amount supplemented by a wife working outside the home (which is not my ideal for a family, so I work two jobs instead). I think churches have been kidding themselves for a long time, paying pastors half of what many church families make, and imagining they are supporting the pastor.
Derek Leman

Our church has a new building and given the economy it has been difficult to meet our budget. We’ve cut expenses for cleaning and yard services. Our current interim pastor will most likely get his hours cut, and our youth pastor is bi-vocational because we can’t afford him full time. There seems to be a lot more bi-vocational pastors now, and that was even before the recession hit.

Our budget has absolutely been overtly discussed as we have already cut one pastor due to budget restrictions. We’ve also asked all of our ministries to cut back. We are keeping a close eye on the numbers because if things don’t improve we unfortunately may have to make another staff cut–something all of our congregation and staff is keenly aware of.

“I think churches have been kidding themselves for a long time, paying pastors half of what many church families make, and imagining they are supporting the pastor.” AMEN, Derek!

If you chose to belong to a certain church, then by God you should support it! That is your responsiblity. If the church is way over budget, you all should be ashamed.