It was an interesting year of data for this year’s Youth Pastor Compensation Survey; my fourth annual installment. The largest reporting states were Texas, California and North Carolina; and we saw at least ten responses from thirty-two different states. In all, we had 1,506 Youth Pastors participate in this year’s survey with 1,264 being full-time (regularly scheduled to work 30 hours or more).

If you’re new to the survey, my name is Dan Navarra and I’m a Youth Pastor who genuinely cares about other Youth Pastors. I’m a 15+ year ministry veteran, a Fuller Seminary MDiv graduate, and I also am directing HR and Personnel in my current role at my church with a staff of 50, counting our pre-school. Plain and simple, my desire is for this information to help you turn your calling into a sustainable career by best understanding the landscape of pastoral compensation among our tribe. Many of you have been encouraging for me personally in this endeavor over the years, and I’ve enjoyed many video consults with those who have asked for help understanding an offer letter, housing allowances, opting out of Social Security, and other compensation questions. Additionally, I do some contract work with churchsalary.com, which is an arm of Christianity Today.

I also work with Chemistry Staffing as a Church Coach to help churches make healthy and strategic hires of quality candidates. My role with Chemistry Staffing is a great fit for me; and help me to provide an even greater platform to continue to make myself available to Youth Pastors everywhere.