"Whether it's in the city, countryside, mountainous area or island, we can guarantee that every church in the city has a dedicated pastor to lead the ministry, and they would never quit easily," said Pastor Z, an old pastor in the Fujian province.
Pastor Z (pseudonym for safety reasons) explained the equal pay system established by the local CC&TSPM with the Gospel Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper.
In the 1990s, Pastor Z, who was then the chairman of the CC&TSPM of P City, led the development of a salary evaluation system for preachers in the city. In this evaluation system, the salaries of grassroots pastoral staff are uniformly assessed and issued by the local CC&TSPM. Their salary standards are identified according to their pastoral age, ordination, administrative position, and educational level.
"For example, a pastor who graduated from a seminary and has served in a grassroots church for about 10 years can earn more than 5,500 yuan a month, excluding social insurance and housing funds, according to our evaluation criteria in four aspects. If you are a seminarian who just joined the ministry, the salary is about 4,000 yuan," added the pastor.
As an ancient historical and populous city in eastern Fujian, P City has more than one hundred registered churches. In addition to the main churches in some urban areas, there are nearly one hundred small churches scattered in various inland mountains and even islands. The payment guarantee of these preachers is also the focus of the local CC&TSPM.
"Whether you're a pastor in a church with a few hundred people in an urban area or a minister in a small church with a dozen or 20 people on an island, everyone gets paid at the same rate," said Pastor Z.
In order to set a good example for the preachers of the city's grassroots churches, Pastor Z, who was also in charge of the downtown church at that time, took the lead in following the system. "In terms of conditions alone, our churches in the city must be better in terms of contribution, and there is nothing wrong with a higher salary," said Paster Z. "But in order to motivate our grassroots preachers, I'm going to have to make some sacrifices in terms of personal salary."
In this way, the pay gap between urban and rural preachers vanished. "Now almost all of our local grassroots churches are led by full-time preachers, and all of them are very satisfied with their position and we have not encountered any shortage or loss of pastors due to economic problems."
In addition to eliminating the differences in the treatment of urban and rural pastors, P City also made a unique exploration into the welfare treatment of retired preachers.
More than a decade ago, Pastor Z retired from his post as the head of the municipal council and the director of the church. However, his service did not stop because of his retirement. Instead, he became even busier and happier. For him, this fulfilling retirement is partly a result of the local reemployment system for retired pastors. It is the welfare security system characterized by the retirement system.
"The retirement system is an additional supplementary welfare mechanism established by our local CC&TSPM for grassroots pastors in addition to social security, which has been implemented for more than ten years." Tracing the history of the retirement system, Pastor Z introduced.
Based on the drafting and establishment of the system, the P City CC&TSPM set up a special retirement fund. Contributions to the fund are made periodically by the staff on the payroll and their affiliated churches. One-third of the money is paid by the pastors and the rest is paid by the churches. When pastors retire, the retirement fund will be paid along with Social Security.
At the same time, in order to ensure that the retirement system can benefit every grassroots pastor, every church in the city has set up a full-time retirement group, which is responsible for identification, review, management, and other related administration such as social security and retirement fund. "Regardless of whether or not the pastor has become a regular pastor when they enter the church and start serving, our care group will follow up with social security and care funds."
The pastor said, at present, the living standards of local pastors in P City after their retirement is basically the same as before their retirement. "Retired pastors can be rehired to serve with the consent of the CC&TSPM, and their salaries will still be calculated according to the previous four criteria, except for the administrative salary. But when you add in social security and the retirement fund, you'll be able to pretty much make up the shortfall." Today, about 90 percent of retired pastors in the city have been rehired and are still active in the ministry.
"I think the close relationship between believers and pastors is based on a steady supply of preachers. The church is God's family, and it is necessary for pastors to devote themselves to pastoral service without any worry so that the congregation will be fed more abundantly through their pastoral service. Once their spiritual growth is established, it will be self-evident and natural for them to serve the preachers."
In today's local rural church, most of the rice, noodles, and vegetables for grassroots pastors are spontaneously provided by the laity, who have grown them in the countryside. "It may be said that we urban pastors envy the countryside pastors in terms of food," Pastor Z concluded with a laugh.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
“无论是城市乡村，还是山区海岛，我们全市每个教堂基本都能保证有专职传道人进行带领牧养，而且都能留得住。”福建某地的老牧者Z牧师告诉中国基督教线上报纸 福音时报。
随后，牧师围绕当地基督教两会建立起的同工同酬制度进行了阐述解答。
上世纪九十年代，时任P市基督教两会主席会长的Z牧师牵头制定了全市传道人薪资待遇的评定制度。在这套评定制度中，基层教牧人员的薪资待遇全部由市基督教两会进行统一评定并发放。而在薪资标准方面，则按照教牧人员的牧龄、圣职、行政职务以及学历水平四方面进行评定。
“打个比方来说，比如一位从神学院毕业，并在基层教会服侍了10年左右的牧师，按照我们的四方面评判标准来计算的话，除去五险一金，他目前一个月的薪水可以达到5500元以上。如果是刚刚参与服侍的神学生传道，薪水基本也在4000元左右。”牧师举例向笔者介绍。
作为闽东人口大市也是历史古城，P市全市注册登记教堂多达一百余座，除了部分城区主要堂点以外，还有近百个散落在各个内陆山区乃至海岛上的“小型”教堂，这些传道人的待遇保障也是备受两会关注的重点。
“无论你是带领几百人的城区教堂牧者，还是岛上十几二十人的小教堂传道人，无一例外，大家都按照同样的标准评定工资。”Z牧师说。
为了给全市各基层堂点的传道人做好表率，当时还身兼市区中心堂负责牧者一职的Z牧师还以身作则，带头响应起了制度规定，“单论条件来说，我们中心堂肯定状况最好，薪水高一些自然也无可厚非。”牧师表示，“但是为了把我们基层传道人都带动起来，我个人自然要在薪水上做出一些牺牲奉献。”
就这样，城乡传道人的薪资差距得以消除。“现在我们当地几乎全部基层堂点都有派任的专职传道人带领，而且大家都能够非常安定地委身侍奉，还没有遇到因为经济问题导致牧者缺乏或流失的状况。”
除了致力于消除城乡传道人待遇差异以外，在退休传道人福利待遇方面，P市同样做出了独具特色的探索。
十几年前，Z牧师从市两会负责人以及教堂主任牧师的岗位上光荣退休，但是，他的侍奉并没有因为退休而归于沉寂，反而愈发忙得不亦乐乎。对他而言，这份充实的退休生活一方面是得益于当地的退休牧者返聘制度；另一方面，则是借助“告老制度”为特色的福利保障体系。
“告老制度就是我们当地两会除社保以外，面向基层传道人建立的额外补充性福利机制，实行至今也有十余年时间了。”追溯起告老制度的历史，牧师向笔者介绍道。
基于制度的起草确立，P市基督教两会设立了专项的“告老基金”。在编的教牧同工与其所属堂会会按照周期共同进行基金的缴纳。其中，牧者个人承担缴纳款项的三分之一，其余部分则由堂会承担。届时在牧者退休之后，告老基金将会随社保一同发放。
同时，为确保告老制度能够惠泽每一位基层传道人，全市每个教会都设立了专职告老组同工，负责社保及告老基金的认定、审核、办理等相关工作。“不论传道人是否转正，凡是进入教会开始侍奉，我们的告老组就会跟进投入社保以及告老基金。”
牧师表示，目前，P市当地的退休牧者在生活水平方面相较退休前基本没有特别大的差距，“退休牧者可以在两会同意的前提下，接受教堂返聘重新回到服侍岗位上，工资依旧按照之前的‘四大评定标准’进行计算，只不过除去了‘行政岗位’这部分的工资。”牧师说，“不过，算上社保和我们的告老基金的话，基本上能够把这部分亏空补充回来。”现如今，当地约九成的退休牧者都接受了返聘，依旧坚守活跃在侍奉一线。
“我觉得，信徒与牧者能够建立密切关系还是基于稳定的传道人供应体系之上的。教会是神的家，牧者只需要无所顾虑，全身心投入到牧养服侍中，信徒便能在牧养中得着更丰盛的喂养，他们的灵命一旦成长起来，供应传道人那就是不言自明，顺理成章的事了。”（==当summary）Z牧师有感触地说
在如今当地的乡下教会，基层传道人的米面蔬菜绝大多数都是由平信徒自发供应。“可以说，在吃的方面，我们城里牧者还要羡慕乡下的牧者呢！”Z牧师笑着说道。
牧者专访：如何让基层传道人更安心地留在服侍岗位上？
"Whether it's in the city, countryside, mountainous area or island, we can guarantee that every church in the city has a dedicated pastor to lead the ministry, and they would never quit easily," said Pastor Z, an old pastor in the Fujian province.
Pastor Z (pseudonym for safety reasons) explained the equal pay system established by the local CC&TSPM with the Gospel Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper.
In the 1990s, Pastor Z, who was then the chairman of the CC&TSPM of P City, led the development of a salary evaluation system for preachers in the city. In this evaluation system, the salaries of grassroots pastoral staff are uniformly assessed and issued by the local CC&TSPM. Their salary standards are identified according to their pastoral age, ordination, administrative position, and educational level.
"For example, a pastor who graduated from a seminary and has served in a grassroots church for about 10 years can earn more than 5,500 yuan a month, excluding social insurance and housing funds, according to our evaluation criteria in four aspects. If you are a seminarian who just joined the ministry, the salary is about 4,000 yuan," added the pastor.
As an ancient historical and populous city in eastern Fujian, P City has more than one hundred registered churches. In addition to the main churches in some urban areas, there are nearly one hundred small churches scattered in various inland mountains and even islands. The payment guarantee of these preachers is also the focus of the local CC&TSPM.
"Whether you're a pastor in a church with a few hundred people in an urban area or a minister in a small church with a dozen or 20 people on an island, everyone gets paid at the same rate," said Pastor Z.
In order to set a good example for the preachers of the city's grassroots churches, Pastor Z, who was also in charge of the downtown church at that time, took the lead in following the system. "In terms of conditions alone, our churches in the city must be better in terms of contribution, and there is nothing wrong with a higher salary," said Paster Z. "But in order to motivate our grassroots preachers, I'm going to have to make some sacrifices in terms of personal salary."
In this way, the pay gap between urban and rural preachers vanished. "Now almost all of our local grassroots churches are led by full-time preachers, and all of them are very satisfied with their position and we have not encountered any shortage or loss of pastors due to economic problems."
In addition to eliminating the differences in the treatment of urban and rural pastors, P City also made a unique exploration into the welfare treatment of retired preachers.
More than a decade ago, Pastor Z retired from his post as the head of the municipal council and the director of the church. However, his service did not stop because of his retirement. Instead, he became even busier and happier. For him, this fulfilling retirement is partly a result of the local reemployment system for retired pastors. It is the welfare security system characterized by the retirement system.
"The retirement system is an additional supplementary welfare mechanism established by our local CC&TSPM for grassroots pastors in addition to social security, which has been implemented for more than ten years." Tracing the history of the retirement system, Pastor Z introduced.
Based on the drafting and establishment of the system, the P City CC&TSPM set up a special retirement fund. Contributions to the fund are made periodically by the staff on the payroll and their affiliated churches. One-third of the money is paid by the pastors and the rest is paid by the churches. When pastors retire, the retirement fund will be paid along with Social Security.
At the same time, in order to ensure that the retirement system can benefit every grassroots pastor, every church in the city has set up a full-time retirement group, which is responsible for identification, review, management, and other related administration such as social security and retirement fund. "Regardless of whether or not the pastor has become a regular pastor when they enter the church and start serving, our care group will follow up with social security and care funds."
The pastor said, at present, the living standards of local pastors in P City after their retirement is basically the same as before their retirement. "Retired pastors can be rehired to serve with the consent of the CC&TSPM, and their salaries will still be calculated according to the previous four criteria, except for the administrative salary. But when you add in social security and the retirement fund, you'll be able to pretty much make up the shortfall." Today, about 90 percent of retired pastors in the city have been rehired and are still active in the ministry.
"I think the close relationship between believers and pastors is based on a steady supply of preachers. The church is God's family, and it is necessary for pastors to devote themselves to pastoral service without any worry so that the congregation will be fed more abundantly through their pastoral service. Once their spiritual growth is established, it will be self-evident and natural for them to serve the preachers."
In today's local rural church, most of the rice, noodles, and vegetables for grassroots pastors are spontaneously provided by the laity, who have grown them in the countryside. "It may be said that we urban pastors envy the countryside pastors in terms of food," Pastor Z concluded with a laugh.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
Interview: Payment System Is Essential to Keep Pastors at Work
