The Synod’s policy of full financial disclosure provides for making available to members of the Synod (congregations, pastors, teachers, and others on the roster), on written request, the salary grid scales of all synodical and district officials, staff and faculty members of CUS, and International Center staff.
The reported salaries are as of the date of publication. Officers and staff are responsible for providing their own housing from their salaries. In addition to salaries, the Synod pays 100 percent of the Concordia Plan Services premium for the employee at the Option B level, 75 percent of the Option B contribution for dependents, and provides a housing differential equal to 5 percent of salary for lay employees in class SM-9. The President of the Synod is provided the use of a car.
The average actual salary for the four elected officers of the Synod, the chief administrative officer and the chief executives at Lutheran Church Extension Fund, The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod Foundation, and Concordia Publishing House equals 137 percent of the average salaries of the 150 highest-paid parish pastors and 150 highest-paid executives of agencies and institutions of the Synod participating in the Concordia Retirement Plan.
Policy provides for the salary of a newly elected president and other elected officials to begin at a level commensurate with past experience and equitable with other executive positions. Annual merit increases are granted at a percentage that is representative of the salary increase trends experienced nationally, locally, and within the Synod. Salaries for International Center staff were adjusted an average of 3.5 percent effective July 2008.
The Boards of Directors of Synod and Concordia Publishing House and the Boards of the Lutheran Church Extension Fund and The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod Foundation maintain salary administration policies that assure equitable and uniform treatment for comparable positions at their respective office locations. Salary ranges approved for the various categories of positions afford opportunity for the recognition of quality of work and level of performance and take into account the wage and salary practices of the local public and private employment, as well as those of the congregations, districts, and related agencies of the Synod and volunteer and professional organizations. The policies that provide for annual performance evaluations were developed with assistance from personnel consultants and are similar to those used by many public and private organizations.
The objectives of the salary administration policies for non-elective positions are to attract competent employees; retain qualified and seasoned employees; provide suitable incentive for performance and personal development; and, at the same time, practice the highest type of stewardship with the synodical dollar and with the human resources available for the work.
A total of 326 full-time employees serve The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod through employment at the International Center. These employees represent program boards, commissions, synodical officers, and general administrative staff that provide shared services to LCEF, Concordia Plan Services, and the Foundation, i.e., accounting, human resources, building services, and information technology. Of the 326 employees, 56 are ordained clergy.
In addition, the Board for Mission Services has 106 missionaries serving throughout the world. There are 29 ordained clergymen serving as missionaries.
Concordia Plan Services (CPS) employs a total of 93 employees in administering the Concordia Health Plan, the Concordia Disability and Survivor Plan, the Concordia Retirement Plan, and the Pension Plan for Pastors and Teachers. One commissioned minister of religion and one ordained clergy are employed by CPS.
The LCMS Foundation, which is responsible for investment management services for legacies, bequests, devises, endowments, annuity gifts, and other trust funds of the Synod and its agencies, as well as the development efforts for the several agencies of the Synod, employs 79 full-time employees. There are three ordained clergyman and four commissioned ministers of religion serving as full-time Foundation employees.
The Lutheran Church Extension Fund, which provides financial resources and related services for ministry, witness, and outreach of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, employs 125 employees, of which one is ordained and none are commissioned.
The synodical Board of Directors are pursuing policies that encourage the limiting of the number of positions at the International Center that require clergy status so that more pastors are available for service in parish ministry.
Cash Salaries at Point of Publication
Actual or Average
President: $171,008
First Vice President: $144,587
Secretary: $158,416
Vice President/Treasurer: $158,416
Chief Administrative Officer: $144,587
Actual Low Actual High Actual or Average
Executive officers of major legal entities (Corporate Synod, CPH, Church Extension Fund, Foundation):
$144,587 $171,008 $157,226
Executive directors of Corporate Synod, CPS, other boards, commissions, and departments (including LCEF and LCMS Foundation) and CPH VP and other officers:
$89,703 $154,294 $124,560
Other managerial, technical, and supervisory staff of Corporate Synod, CPS, other boards, commissions, and departments (including LCEF and LCMS Foundation):
$33,360 $132,189 $67,982
More detailed information, including salary grid scales of all synodical and district officials, staff, and faculty members, is available to congregations and ordained and commissioned ministers on the roster of the Synod by written request to David Fiedler, Interim Director of Human Resources, The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, 1333 S. Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, MO 63122-7295.
Posted Oct. 24, 2008
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