paying musicians

Two schools of thought on paying musicians

By Jeff May

In a recent ministry blog, a pastor wrote, “One thing that really bothers me is having to pay musicians to play in worship. My worship leader insists that since they are professional musicians we have to pay them. We have professional teachers teaching Bible fellowship classes and leading small groups, and none of them ask me to pay them for teaching.”

This is an argument that has been discussed for many years between church leaders. Before you read any further, just know that I cannot give you a definite answer to this age-old question. I can, however, offer some thoughts based on personal experience and observation.

To pay or not to pay

There are two schools of thought on this issue. The first is the all-or-nothing philosophy, which says that either every musician is paid or none are.

One of the churches in my hometown pays every choir member, musician and technical operator. No volunteers. Everyone takes home a paycheck. This is a lucrative set-up for many people. The churches that pay everyone on their team tend to have extremely high quality music programs. The downside is that their passion for the vision of the church can potentially get lost in the “gig” mentality.

Most churches, however, operate on the other side of this coin, where no one gets paid. This is good for the budget and church unity, but quality often suffers.

It is also important to note that just because people volunteer doesn’t mean that their motives for being involved are pure. Musicians often want the spotlight to fill their own needs and insecurities. This need transcends a payroll. The second school of thought is the pay-some-but-not-all philosophy.

This has its own set of advantages and challenges. The success of this approach hinges on clearly defining what positions get paid and what their responsibilities are.

Additional responsibilities

If you only pay some of your musicians, I would suggest giving them additional responsibilities for which they are being paid. Those responsibilities can go beyond just playing: things like organizing music, leading a sectional rehearsal or transcribing music. This can minimize the tendency for the volunteer musicians to wonder why they aren’t getting paid too.

If the church decides to pay the musicians, it is important to have a consistent scale that is clearly defined prior to hiring a musician. Each scale is different based on the community where the church is located.

In a time where churches are looking for ways to trim their budgets, it is important to be creative with alternatives to paying musicians. For instance, if space is available, consider opening up a church classroom during the week for your musicians to give private lessons, or give them priority when recommending musicians for outside paying events, such as weddings.

Using volunteers

My experience has taught me that the best results are achieved with a volunteer team of musicians who are led well. It is the job of the music director to challenge, inspire and motivate their team of musicians.

Everyone wants to be part of something great! If the music director is doing his or her job, they are constantly raising the bar of excellence and pushing the creativity to a point where people are lining up to be part of the team. As a music director, I intentionally build in frequent opportunities for our music team to surprise themselves with their ability to execute seemingly impossible music. This success creates an energy that cannot be replaced by a paycheck.

The final answer in the debate over paying musicians really lies within each team and its core values. Serving is not a core value of some churches. In those churches, paying all of the musicians is probably a better option.

In a church that promotes everyone serving and utilizing their gifts to better the local church, a volunteer team is usually the best option. There may be a few key positions within those teams that are paid, but the core is made up of volunteers.

People receive great fulfillment in knowing that they are a part of something that is contributing to a greater cause — the cause of Christ. It sounds very cliché but there is value in building treasures in Heaven that last. Teams that serve their church with passion and excellence are storing away treasure for eternity.

Jeff May is director of music ministries, North Point Church, Springfield, MO. [www.northpointnow.org]