CHICAGO, IL (August 8, 2012) – The 2012 edition of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) Pastoral Compensation Report is now available on the Covenant website, offering a wide range of resources and guidelines for use by local Covenant churches in establishing compensation levels for pastoral staff.

“The focus of this report is to provide resources to local churches and encourage them to compensate pastors above the minimum levels, as well as promote adequate and fair compensation for all pastors,” says Dean Lundgren, vice president for finance.

Among the resources included in the online package are the following:

• A list of nine other major denominations and average pastoral salaries, including the median for 15 reporting denominations and a comparison with the ECC
• Cost of living data for various regions throughout the United States where Covenant churches are located
• A 10-year Consumer Price Index (CPI) recap through the year 2011
• Recommended minimum guidelines for pastoral compensation, including an index of minimums according to average worship attendance
• A list of additional benefits to be addressed that are not part of a pastor’s base compensation amount

“It is hoped that pastoral compensation, with full support of regional and denominational leadership, will be an important priority of local church management,” Lundgren says.

Some regional conferences also publish information and guidelines regarding compensation in a particular conference, Lundgren notes. Congregations are advised to check with their conference superintendent for additional information specific to their region.

Click here to access the 2012 Pastoral Compensation Report.