Executive Pastor and Church Administrator: Roles and Pay

An executive pastor runs a church’s staff, budget, facilities and systems so the lead pastor can concentrate on teaching and care, and a church administrator runs the office, the calendar, the records and the facility schedule. Of the 18 executive and administrative postings on Church Posting on October 19, 2026, five state pay, from $51,500 for a church administrator in Maryland to $125,000 for a chief financial officer in Florida.

The figures come from 18 church postings read October 19, 2026, at 15 churches in 11 states whose titles name an executive, administrator, operations, business manager, chief of staff or finance role, plus BLS wage data and the IRS Tax Guide for Churches. The 18 include campus administrators, a reception administrator and two IT administrators.

What should the church define in an executive role?

Ask the church to state which staff, budgets and facilities the role oversees. Confirm who can approve spending, hire staff and resolve disagreements. Get the reporting line and the board’s role in writing.

Is an executive pastor over a lead pastor?

The title alone cannot answer that. Read the church’s bylaws and ask who supervises each role and who can remove a staff member.

What is the difference between a lead pastor and a senior pastor?

Of the 27 senior and lead pastor titles in the snapshot, 13 say senior pastor, 12 say lead pastor and 2 say Senior/Lead Pastor. The church’s governing documents and job description establish authority.

What should a church administrator ask about?

Ask about office staff, financial records, payroll, room scheduling, vendors and facility responsibilities. Establish which decisions belong to the administrator and which need a pastor or board’s approval.

How is a church secretary different?

Read the duties before comparing titles. Ask whether the role carries budget or supervisory responsibility. The church job description guide has templates for both roles.

What pay appears in the structured listing fields?

How much do executive pastors and church administrators earn?

The BLS category nearest to the work is administrative services managers, with a May 2025 median of $114,130. Secretaries and administrative assistants have a median of $47,540, and general and operations managers $105,770.

Of the five posted figures in the table above, four sit below the BLS median for administrative services managers and the chief financial officer’s $125,000 sits above it. The median midpoint of the five is $100,000, with a range of $51,500 to $125,000. The BLS numbers cover every employer, so a church that wants an administrator with business experience competes with all of them.

Are these jobs exempt from overtime?

Ask the church to state overtime status in writing. The federal Department of Labor lists $684 a week, which is $35,568 a year, as the standard salary level for the executive, administrative and professional exemptions. The duties must also meet the relevant test.

What size church needs an executive pastor?

The snapshot does not establish a staffing threshold. Of the 18 executive and administrative listings, 12 say full time, 3 say part time and 3 do not say. A church should define the work, the authority and the budget before choosing a title.

What should an application demonstrate?

Describe your experience with finance, operations, staff and volunteers. Name the budget you managed, the reports you prepared and the people who supervised your work. Ask the church which qualifications are required and which experience it accepts.

How should a church set pay for an executive pastor?

Set it with people who do not benefit from it. IRS Publication 1828 says insiders “could include the minister, church board members, officers, and in certain circumstances, employees,” and lists “the payment of unreasonable compensation to insiders” as an example of prohibited inurement. A board or a finance committee that sets the pay of a senior staff member should decide without that person in the room, record the comparison it used and keep the record.

A comparison set can come from the BLS table above, the posted figures, and the pay of the role’s closest peers inside the church.

How do you get hired as an administrator or executive pastor?

Four steps match the postings.

1. Build a record in finance, human resources or operations and prepare references who can discuss your work.
2. Name the accounting, scheduling and church management tools you have used, and explain your responsibilities.
3. Read the church’s statement of faith and ask which commitments the role requires.
4. Ask who the role reports to, who sets its pay and which body hires it.

A church can write the posting with the church job description guide, which has a church administrator template, and can post the job free. The software side of the job is covered in the guides to choosing church management software, church accounting software and the church bookkeeping cycle, and the minister housing allowance guide covers payroll for pastors.

See the open jobs on the church administrator pages, the executive pastor pages and the church accountant pages. The weekly newsletter sends new guides and job data.