NASHVILLE — The mounting cost of benefits is forcing churches to provide fewer pastors with medical insurance.
That was one of the findings of the Southern Baptist Convention Church Compensation Study, a survey of 11,674 staff positions in Southern Baptist churches. LifeWay Research conducted the survey in cooperation with GuideStone Financial Resources and Baptist state conventions through June 2010.
The survey revealed that fewer full-time senior pastors receive medical insurance from their churches today than in 2008, with 61 percent of churches partially or fully paying medical insurance for their full-time senior pastors, compared to 65 percent in 2008. These reduced benefits occurred at the same time churches were being impacted by the economic downturn and as the U.S. Department of Labor indicates the cost of medical care rose 3.2 percent and 3.4 percent in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
Ten percent of churches provide at least partial medical insurance funding for the pastor alone, while 17 percent fund coverage for the pastor and his wife, and 33 percent supply coverage for the pastor and his family. For senior pastors, churches fully or partially pay for the following benefits: dental insurance, vision insurance, life and/or accident insurance and disability insurance.
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