Compensation and Guidelines
Greetings in Christ to you on behalf of the SD Synod Compensation and Guidelines Task Force.
The membership of this committee consists of rostered ministers, lay employees, and lay leaders from across the Synod.
The goal of our collective work is to provide congregations in South Dakota with information to assist with maintaining professional employment standards for both rostered ministers and lay employees, including Synod Authorized Ministers (SAM’s).
The scope of our collaboration included the development of documents, tools (calculators and flowcharts), and general information to assist both urban and rural congregations.
The agreed-upon Guidelines were submitted to the Support to Ministry committee for their review and forwarded to the 2024 Synod Assembly, where they were adopted.
A key goal for 2025 and in recent years has been to increase the salary table to keep pace with both inflation and to better fit with the total defined compensation of our neighboring synods.
A review of key recommendations:
- A glossary of terms has been added to the document for reference and clarity.
- Salary tables for Rostered Ministers: A 5% increase in base salary, an additional $2,060, raising the recommended base salary from $41,212 to $43,272.
- Compensation for Lay Staff: A 5% increase for salaried staff is recommended. The recommendation for hourly minimum wage to increase from $13.13 to $14.00, a 6.6% increase. This recommendation was based on local inflationary realities. It was decided to remove the table for hourly rate as it was deemed congregations were not using this tool with lay staff.
- Congregations are encouraged to review the prevailing wage for local communities when assessing lay staff wages/salary.
- A new section relative to SAM’s has been added.
- Consideration of Prior Experience: Years of experience from prior career work is valuable. The committee recommends that ½ year of credit be extended up to a maximum of 10 years for prior employment experience. This recommendation applies for both rostered ministers and lay staff.
- The housing equity allowance section includes updated language and references to Portico options. It is recommended that you consult with a tax advisor.
- Professional expenses: a reminder to include Continuing Education and other professional expenses be included in the annual budget. Also to be included are costs associated with required events (Synod Assembly and Fall and Spring Theological conferences).
- Sabbath & paid time off: The minimum number of paid holidays has been increased from 8 to 10 for all employees. A list of 15 holidays has been included for reference. Congregations may select the holidays they prefer to include in their benefit offerings.
- For lay staff, congregations are encouraged to extend the same holidays received by rostered leaders. Additional information addressing personal days, parental, bereavement, and military leave relative to lay employees.
- Interim Ministry Wants & Needs: A helpful flowchart has been developed and included to help congregations identify if they can afford a full-time, ordained interim minister and how duties will be assigned and compensated based on the range of full or part-time assignment of the Interim Minister being considered.
The work of the committee is ongoing. Members of the committee welcome your suggestions and questions. We are called to serve both city and rural congregations. As a result, the scope of the work is diverse and challenging.
Respectfully submitted by members of the Synod Guidelines & Compensation Task Force.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Synod office at synod@sdsynod.org or (605) 274-4011.