In every congregation, Christian Reformed men and women use gifts of organization, administration, budgeting, accounting, and more to provide for the orderly functioning of the church. Without people providing these gifts to a congregation, the church would be unable to succeed at its other programs and gospel outreach.
The resources in the attached booklet (see both Canada and US versions) are intended to be a guide for these tasks. While they are not exhaustive, they help to address some of the most commonly asked questions we receive from congregations. You'll also find the latest data for your use.
Resources include:
- Important Dates and Schedule of Reporting
- Ministry Shares Information (current system and "reimagined")
- Remittance Forms
- Ministers’ Pension
- Ministers Compensation Survey
- Denominational Ministries
- Denominational Offering Calendar
For additional resources and assistance, please post a comment below or email us at [email protected] for Canadian enquires or [email protected] for US enquires. We would be happy to assist you in whatever way we can!
Comments
There are significant fluctuations, both up and down, when comparing the average total base salary plus housing for a specific classis to the average reported in last year's finance guide. Would it be possible for you to publish the US average and median for this year's guide, the US average and median from last year's guide, the number of churches in each classis, the number of responses for each classis, as well as the median for each classis. Thank you!
My understanding is that the median was information that was provided as part of the salary data in the past, but it became apparent that the majority of churches and individuals were interested in just the averages, so reporting on the median was eliminated. At this point that information is not readily available, but we will consider adding that piece back in if we receive more requests for median data in the future. Please feel free to send an email to [email protected] with any other specific questions.
Thank you for the response. Has anyone there compared the 2022 salary average for each classis to the corresponding 2021 average. I have done so, and there are dramatic increases (11 to 62%) in 11 classes and decreases (10 to 27%) in 7 classes. That's why I am asking for the median to be included. Also, listing the total number of pastors and the number of responses in each classis would help understand the reliability of the average. I would also ask for the salary data to be available in csv format. Thanks!
Would you also please check the averages of $102,000 listed for both Grand Rapids East and Illiana. Considering the numbers are exact thousands and the averages reported in the 2021 guide, they seem to be outliers. Thank you!
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We are in the process of updating that section of the US Church Administration & Finance Guide and will post the updated version here soon.
Hello…
I’ve had an opportunity to review the 2022 report and have 2 questions:
Pensions: Did the per member cost decrease from $37.20 from $42.96 and with the base starting at $7,704 for 207 members rather than $9,840 for 229 members, or are the former numbers for the USA Pension Plan?
Total Cash Salary: Why is the quartile chart 2022 the same as the one for 2021?
Yours in Christ,
Lubbert
********
Lubbert van der Laan, Clerk, Council,
Trinity Christian Reformed Church
Yes, the per member assessment for the Canadian plan was decreased at the beginning of 2022--those assessments are currently the same amount in both the U.S. and Canada. Regarding the Total Cash Salary chart, it appears that was not updated in this year's booklet--as you suspected, it is the same chart from our 2021 Church Administration & Finance Guide. Our apologies for this oversight--the rest of the information was updated as expected.
Hi Majorie...
Since I prepare an annual compensation report, it would be helpful to understand the rationale for aligning the Canadian pension assessment with the US assessment to when the report is presented at the Personnel Committee and Council.
Secondly, I would appreciate if the 2021 Quartile Salary Chart in the Report be updated to include the 2022 data. The information is pertinent as guideline to reviewing the pastor's salary grid, but more so as the church starts a recruitment process due to a retirement. Can I be emailed the data?
As the Canadian plan moved into a better funded position, we were advised by the Plan's actuaries to reduce the pension assessment rates (in order to meet the continued approval of Canadian regulatory agencies).
If you send your email address to the pension office email ([email protected]), we should be able to send you an updated salary chart.
Hi Marjorie...
Thank you. Appreciated. I'll do that.
Lubbert
Nevermind, the pdf is working now.
Will there be a Church Administration & Finance Guide - 2024 published? Sorry if I missed it. Could you direct me to it?
Thanks for your question, Maria! There were some unexpected delays in creating this year's Church Administration & Finance Guide (2024), but it will be made available as soon as possible. We're expecting it to be ready by mid-September, and it will be published on the Network. In the meantime, you can take specific questions to [email protected] as they do have some information available now.
Thank you so much for the reply. I appreciate all the hard work your office puts into this.
Our Human Resources Ministry Team is meeting on Thursday September 19th to determine staff compensations for 2025. Do you have any updates for when the Church Administration & Finance Guide (2024-2025) will be published? Thank-you.
Thank you for posting the Canadian 2024-205 report.
What is the planned publish date for the Church Administration & Finance Guide 2025-2026? Will there be any changes to the calculations for Ministers’ Pension Fund payments?
Thanks, Bob Swanson
Hi Bob. The new US version was just posted above. I expect the Canadian one will be ready in the next few days.
Thanks Kristen!
Hi Kristen...
Reviewing the Church Finance & Administration Guide for the USA I noted that the cash salary percentile chart is not included. Will it be included in the guide for Canada. The data on the percentile chart is very helpful in reviewing / establishing start and end points of salary grids. Thank you. Lubbert van der Laan
Hi Lubbert. My understanding is that there will be some sort of salary graph in the Canadian version of the guide, but I'm not sure if it is the specific one you are asking about. I also found out that information on minister's compensation will be in the toolkit that Thrive is close to completing related to church staffing and human resources. I have been told that they hope to complete it next week. It should be even more helpful than what was previously made available. So stay tuned.
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