Should We Pay Church Musicians? (Podcast) - a podcast by NLW International

Our question today is should we pay our church musicians. The short answer is maybe…if certain criteria are met.

To help us answer this difficult question, we first need to look at the Levite musicians. We’re not told in scripture if the Levite musicians were actually paid for their services. However, in 1 Chronicles 9 it states that they stayed in the rooms of the Temple when they were on duty and that they were exempt from other duties because they worked day and night as musicians. We also know that the Levite Priests were able to eat from the sacrifices brought to the Temple.

Therefore, we can conclude that at the very least the Levite musicians’ expenses were covered. In addition, Jesus said, “…the worker deserves his wages” (Luke 10:7 NIV). Thus, one could make the case that musicians who work in the church could at times receive payment for their services.

That leads us to the practical side of considering whether or not someone should be paid on our teams. Beyond the obvious question of whether our church can afford to pay someone, we need to ask four questions regarding that person before we make a decision to pay a musician or technician.

4 Things to Consider

First, we need to look at the time that will be required. How much time are we asking of this person to commit to help in our church? If it’s honoring to God to give 10% of our money as a tithe to Him, then it’s reasonable to say we can also honor Him by giving 10% of our time. If we add up the daylight hours of a workweek, that’s about 80 hours. Ten percent of 80 hours is eight hours, which is well within reason to serve in the church from week to week.

If we expect musicians to attend a rehearsal each week, by the time they get to the rehearsal location, set up their equipment, rehearse and then come back home, they’ve probably invested two or more hours during the week. On the weekend, if they come on a Sunday morning at say, 7 AM, then they rehearse and play during the services, perhaps they will have given five hours or more. That can add up to be between eight and nine hours each week. At that level of time commitment we are basically asking a volunteer to tithe their time.

On the other hand, if we also ask a musician to return on Sunday evening to play again or if we include yet another service or rehearsal during the week, then their hours at church can climb to 10 hours or more, which may exceed their tithe of time. Thus, with that much time, we may want to consider at least reimbursing some of their expenses, as they did for the Levite musicians.

The second consideration is talent. When I say talent, I mean a broader word then pure, raw talent. A lot of people have wonderful and amazing talent, yet they’ve not developed it. We need to consider both their talent and their skill level. What have they done with their natural ability? Have they got experience built in so that they are a cut above the average person as a player or a singer, or as a technical person running the sound and lights? Do they possess certain skills that would justify them being paid? That’s a subjective question. You’ll have to decide what level you consider to be professional or worthy of payment. However, if they’ve worked and invested time and money into developing their skills and their talents, then some amount of pay might be appropriate.

The third consideration is tasks.

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