Pastoral Salaries in Bolivia

Providing economic support for national and diaconal pastors’ salaries.

The average take-home salary for pastors of the Iglesia Evangelica Metodista en Bolivia (IEMB) is extremely low: $350/month. Pastors have to pay for their own transportation, expenses, and often for their own housing, and the expenses of the church (such as candles). Pastors are often asked to contribute to the medical or other needs of local church members. There are only 48 full-time National Pastors who serve as National Officers, District Superintendents, and serve 256 local churches and preaching points. We need to double the number of pastors. Also El Alto, Bolivia is the fastest growing city in the Western Hemisphere, growing from 80,000 in 1987 to over 1 million today! Many of them are Methodists who moved in from the countryside and desperately want a Methodist church to attend in the big city. But we only have 4 pastors available to serve El Alto! We need pastors! The IEMB is a church of the poor; with a median income of less than $2/day. Local church donations primarily stay in the local church to cover basic needs, with a very small amount ( <1%) coming to the national church for salaries. Therefore, funding the pastors salaries coming from internal donations is not an option. There are many young men and women prepared to enter the ministry, but the IEMB must delay their ordination and hiring because there isn’t enough funds to pay their salaries. Despite these difficulties, the pastors of the IEMB still do an incredible work of evangelism, and serving the Indigenous peoples of Bolivia. The total cost for salaries, insurance, retirement and taxes for the IEMB is $325,000/yr.

If the Advance could raise one third of the funds needed by the IEMB to pay salaries, it would allow the IEMB to give raises, and allow them to increase the number of pastors. That would allow the IEMB to reach many more people in the name of Christ.

Increasing salaries for pastors, and adding additional National and Diaconal Pastors for the IEMB will increase the pastoral care given to the exisiting congregations and allow for the development of new congregations.

More national and diaconal pastors who are better paid.