Saturday, December 1, 2018
Hey Fletch … I read your column from Monday, October 22, 2018 on “Poll of Church Health Insurance Benefits.” As you have looked into this, were you able to find more comprehensive data?
DRF—My friends at GuideStone were able to point me to some great data. Wade Wilkerson, a Regional Manager for their Insurance Plans, provided two substantive links.
The first link is from LifeWay and is a graphic of the “Percentages of SBC churches paying some or all of the full-time senior pastor’s medical insurance.” This is good data, especially for churches with less than 250 in average weekly attendance.
The second link is also from Lifeway and is an online report where you can input location and position information. On a state by state basis, this customizable report includes medical, dental, vision and life/accident and disability insurance.
I selected the check box for “Texas—Southern Baptist of Texas” and “Senior Pastor Full-Time.” Then I clicked on “Run Report.”
The report showed 143 responses from their 2018 Compensation Study. For a church with 150-199 in attendance, the average annual amount that a congregation paid for all insurance coverage was $13,000. The table continues to churches of 500, which pay $18,539. Churches over 1,000 pay $18,145.
In their nationwide database, they have 2,173 senior pastors, along with 1,837 staff pastors, 448 office personnel and other categories. You can have data from various states in one report or run a report on the entire nation.
This is outstanding data from all across the nation. Thanks to Lifeway for this valuable resource.
