What is your church's practise regarding money? Do your pastor(s) get paid directly by the congregation from congregational giving or is pay for church employees (pastor and others) from other sources - for example the diocese, presbytery, general conference and so on?
In my denomination, each parish is responsible for its own financial support (there are subsidized congregations but ours is not).
Each congregation gives a set amount of the total offerings to the district (diocese) - typically 10 to 20 percent - which in turn gives a percentage to the national denomination.
Each congregation remunerates the pastor(s) and other professional church workers. There is a "scale" from the district (diocese) for salaries but there is no obligation to follow that (but most do).
Our church records actually belong to the district and the district can (and occasionally does) audit them. The district has guidelines that are to be followed in financial affairs. Belonging to the denomination includes a willingness to be subject to such rules and supervision.
Our denomination is not as strong a denomination as say the ELCA or RCC or LDS..... each parish is a separate incorporated entity and legally owns its own property; there is no sense that we are "owned and operated by the denomination". But it's not purely congregational either since we agree to "walk together" (the meaning of the word "synod") and to be accountable to the district (diocese).
- Josiah
