There is a statistic from a recent study that should alarm us as pastors. Nearly a third of us have $0 in personal savings. That means 1 out of every 3 colleagues in your vocation wake up each morning without a dollar to his or her name. Equally as alarming is the fact that 84% of pastors in America do not have an emergency fund to cover any big expenses.

Some may look at these numbers and nod with approval believing that ministry workers are called to a life of scarcity. As the head of a deacon board once prayed for his pastor, “Lord, we’ll keep him poor; You keep him humble.” But Scripture never insists on God’s people being poor. In fact, the passages like Proverbs make an undeniable comparison linking poverty with foolishness (and wealth with wisdom).

Shame on churches who intentionally keep their pastor poor. Paul says in 1 Tim 5 that those who preach and teach God’s Word are worthy of wages. Yet the bigger shame is why so many pastors remain in their present financial predicament. Here are 4 reasons why pastors tend to struggle with personal money management and a quick thought or two on what to do if any of these reasons describe your situation. None of these is meant to be an excuse for pastors to continue in their ways, but to shine a light on potential blind spots so we can get better.

Lower Income

Maybe the most recognized reason has to do with the income level of pastors. Of course, there are examples of celebrity pastors and televangelists with lucrative “ministries” but they are overwhelmingly in the minority. 80% of pastors serve in congregations of less than 200 people, most of which offer annual salaries in the $30-$40K range.

These pastors are underpaid relative to non-ministry positions with comparable responsibilities including the number of people they lead, the hours they put in, and the services they contribute to their local communities.

What to do – Often times there is little that can be done through the church in which you serve. 81% of pastors are not completely satisfied with their compensation, but as much as 80% of them said their church could not afford to pay them more. Some things to consider are helping your church switch to a bi-vocational model, take up a second job, or start a profitable side-hustle.   

Keeping Up with Church Member Jones

Many pastors buy into the idea that their lifestyle must mirror the level of those they are trying to reach. If there is a high-class family we want to connect to our church then we need to have things in common, such as drive the same car, eat at the same restaurants, and vacation at the same resorts (all in the name of the gospel, of course). So pastors spend what little disposable income they have trying to maintain a standard of living that their modest salaries can’t handle.  

What to do – Forgive the bluntness… just stop it. You do not have to impress people with possessions, nor do you need the same golf club membership to connect with people. Those things are nice to have, sure, but they are not essential to making disciples. Find other means of connecting people to your ministry that don’t cost you your family’s future.

Constantly on the Move

There have been numerous studies pointing to the transient nature of pastors. Depending on denomination and position the average stay in one church ranges from 3-8 years, with most studies coming in at less than half a decade before they relocate. This makes it difficult for pastors to establish long-term roots that build equity.

Rather than staying in a house for 10-15 years and building significant equity in their property, they sell relatively quickly and buy a new home in a new location. Instead of growing equity, they are spending thousands on closing costs and fees every few years, not to mention those who anticipate a short stay who choose to rent and forgo building equity all together.

The constant shuffling of ministry practitioners around the country continually keeps them behind the eight ball when it comes to padding their nest egg with property equity.

What to do – This is a much bigger issue than the scope of this article, but pastors would do well to learn how to stay in one place longer. Discipleship takes time. So as far as it is within your control, plant some roots and invest in your church, your community, and your own financial future for the long-term.

Lack of Financial Education

All three of these are legitimate reasons why pastors tend to struggle financially, but perhaps the leading reason is that they were never taught another way. Over 85% of pastors report not receiving any financial training from their seminary. They learned how to preach a sermon about the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills but never received instruction on how to care for the few cows He entrusted to them personally. Most pastors are financially illiterate and even have reported that 80-85% of pastors have very little confidence in managing either their personal or their church finances.

What to do – Two obvious solutions present themselves. First, you can hire people to manage finances so you do not have to. Depending on your situation, this may be prudent in your church setting but it still would be helpful to have at least a basic grasp on things to ensure you are leading your church well. It makes less sense to outsource this in your personal finances, so the second solution is to educate yourself. Take some online courses, read articles from trusted sources (like this one), or pay an accountant to teach you some fundamentals.

Which of these four has been the biggest struggle for you? What other reasons do you know of that contribute to pastors being poor money managers? Leave a comment and let us know!