Benefits

Benefits are important to every worker. Many times the benefits of an employer outweigh the pay scale. That can mean the difference in making or breaking it weekly for a family. We have a list of compensation and benefits for our pastors in the COG both in our General Assembly Minutes and our South Carolina COG Book of Minutes. Many times our churches cannot fulfill those requirements because of finances, but woe unto the church that can and doesn't follow the guidelines.

Many church members will say, "Well, we pay the pastor enough. Why should we give him/her benefits?" What if your employer said the same thing? You would be upset, frustrated, and may even leave that place of employment to find a place that does. So why should it be any different for a pastor. If they do their job they ought to be compensated for it with a salary, expense, and benefits. Doesn't the Word of God declare blessings on those who bless? If you take care of your pastor then blessings will come.

Many of our COG churches  in SC are in small towns and rural areas. That means a pastor has to travel to where the hospitals are. Once I drove 502 miles in 3 days one week just visiting the hospitals and the sick. That was when gas was over $2.50 a gallon. Some weeks I would spend over $200 just in gas just visiting hospitals out of town. Did I mind? Of course not. That was my calling and my job. That's why if you have a good pastor, who does what they should, you ought to do everything you can to keep them, and that includes making sure they have the benefits called for by our Minutes and even more as the Lord blesses you.

I've been there when the church didn't provide housing, health insurance, or retirement. As I said earlier, many of our smaller churches cannot afford to do that. My concern is with those who talk about others making sacrifices that never have had to make sacrifices themselves. It's easy to talk it, but a whole lot harder to walk it. If you've been there, you never forget. You remember what it took to get to that place where you began to be compensated justly. You look back on those days and wonder how you made it, but then you realize that God was with you all the way. So as one that's gone through the experience of having no benefits, let me say it's much easier on a pastor who is well taken care of than one who isn't. God bless our churches and church members who give honor to whom honor is due and take care of their shepherd.