Should Church Organists Be Paid?

Should church organists be paid? If not, why not and under what circumstances should they be paid?

Worthy of their Wages

A church organist that plays at a wedding, funeral or memorial service should get paid for their service in the same way that a funeral home gets paid for the service that they render, so there is nothing wrong about an organist or pianist being paid for what they do, especially if they are not related to the family or even know them. If there is a family friend or church member who wants to play for free, as a way of giving something to the bereaved family, that is up to them. This is the case in many funerals that I have presided over and it is always a matter between the family and the organist or pianist to decide.

Typical Wages

Believe it or not, the average career salary range for a church organist or pianist is anywhere from $30,000 upward to about $100,000 a year, depending upon the size of the church, the number of services they are needed, and how much time they spend in the performance of their job. These duties are not limited to church services because they may be asked to play at a funeral or a memorial service or even for a community church service. The organist works closely with the worship leader in the church but the organist may also be the worship service leader in some cases, particularly with smaller churches where neither the worship service leader or the organists gets paid.

Their Role in Worship

If you look back at the Old Testament, worship and the worship music was very serious business as there were huge numbers of stringed instruments, percussion, and a multitude of wind instruments. It must have been incredible to have listened to it (2nd Chron 29). Music is an integral part of the worship of God as it prepares our hearts, it causes us to reflect on such a great of salvation, and it stirs the human spirit, deep within their soul. After the walls of Jerusalem had been rebuilt, there was an enormous worship service “And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres” (Neh 12:27).

Eternal Rewards

The truth is, most Christians will not receive their greatest rewards in this life but in the life to come when Jesus will say to them “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt 25:34) since Jesus sees it “as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matt 25:40), He tells His church today, as He told His disciples then, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal” (John 6:27) since “whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward” (Matt 10:42).

Conclusion

If your church has an organist or pianist, you should thank them for what they do for the church, whether they get paid or not, since God’s Word teaches that “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages” (1st Tim 5:18), something that was taught even in the Old Testament (Deut 25:4). Sometimes just being told “Thank you” is payment enough.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.