By Bizna Brand Analyst
Preachers’ source of wealth has become a subject of debate with the increasing number of mega-churches and rich pastors. Though some church leaders claim to work without compensation, preaching is a career and most preachers receive a regular income from various church activities and other sources. Here is how Kenyan preachers make money.
Defined salaries
Believe it or not, most churches provide their leaders with annual salaries that are established by contract. The amount of salary varies based on the size of the church and the congregation. Mega-churches have congregations in excess of 5,000 members and hence owners of those churches pay themselves a lot.. The total amount of compensation can be made up of many components, including numerous allowances. To assist with housing, most churches provide a home that is paid for by the church or a specified monthly allowance to be spent on housing expenses. Allowances for travel and personal expenses commonly are found in pastoral contracts.
However,not all pastors get this benefit. Some are struggling financially, especially those working for traditional churches such as ACK, Catholic, PCEA ETC. They don’t request more compensation but would still appreciate one. Some pastors simply don’t want to deal with a critic who might question any raise given to a pastor. Others feel extremely uncomfortable talking about money in general, and use the “no raise” request to deflect further conversation. Some think it’s just the noble thing to do. But most pastors, in reality, would appreciate a fair raise to keep up with growing expenses.
Hyped Conferences
The hype for these conferences starts months before hand. Other church members look at you strangely if you are thinking about not going. What, you can’t afford the huge entry fee? What’s wrong with you, don’t you love God? Don’t you want to be blessed? Don’t you want to be successful and wealthy? Don’t you want to be part of us? Because you won’t be, unless you go to THE CONFERENCE!
