Housing issue reviewed and analyzed for 2004 Annual Meeting
Last year, participants
at the 204 th Annual Meeting
of the MACUCC requested
that information be gathered about the current state of housing
for pastors serving churches in our Conference. In
January, the MACUCC Commission for Leadership Development
sent a housing survey to all 440 churches in the Conference.
We are most grateful
to the 264 churches who responded - a staggering 60% of our
churches. This is what you told us:
- In 39%
of our churches, the pastor lives in a parsonage.
- Of pastors
living in parsonages, 51% receive an Equity Allowance
(a fund established for the purchase of a home upon the
pastor's retirement).
- A Housing
Allowance (instead of a parsonage) is provided to 50% of
our pastors.
- Some
churches, 4%, offer both a Housing Allowance and a Parsonage
(this is usually because several pastors serve the church).
- Many
churches - - 23% -- have sold a parsonage in the
past fifteen years; 4% of churches have purchased a new
parsonage. The proceeds from sales have been invested
in a variety of ways, such as Restricted Use Funds and the
Church Endowment Fund. However, approximately half
the churches which have sold a parsonage reported that the
proceeds are being used to offset the ongoing operating
costs (general budget) of the church.
- Parsonages
not used by a pastor, but still owned by the church, are
often rented (13% of churches) or used for other church
related activities (2%).
Thank you very much for your assistance in
creating this profile of pastoral housing in our conference.
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