Monthly List – January 2021 – 100 Highly Paid Ministry Executives

Below is a list of highly paid Christian ministry executives. The information was derived from the Form 990 prepared by the ministry itself.

We are not calling this list the “Highest Paid Christian Ministry Executives” because we know that many pastors and other church leaders who might make more are not on this list, because churches are not required to make their Form 990s available to the public.

It’s also important to note some differences between this year’s list and last year’s list.  Last year’s list included only about 50 executives.  This year, we expanded the list to 100 executives.  We made this change for a variety of reasons, but the main reason was this:  The MinistryWatch database has enlarged significantly in the past year — from 450 ministries to 750 ministries.  We had much more data, so we wanted to pass along some of that new information to you.

Another important note concerns colleges and universities on our list.  It is not unusual for the highest paid person at a college, Christian or otherwise, to be the football coach, the basketball coach, or the athletic director.  We left off coaches in our list because if we had left them on, the list would be dominated by them.

A third important note is this:  MinistryWatch has identified a growing and disturbing trend among Christian ministries to identify as churches and thereby withhold their Form 990s. (For more on this topic, click here.)   Large Christian ministries that have made this election include: CRU/Campus Crusade for Christ, The Navigators, Gideons International, Wycliffe Associates, Willow Creek Association, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Joyce Meyer Ministries, and Ethnos360/New Tribes Mission. In addition, many megachurches and their related radio and television ministries. These organizations and individuals include: Joel Osteen, David Jeremiah, Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar, and Kenneth Copeland.

A word about timing: This information comes from the most recent Form 990 available on Guidestar.org, Charity Navigator, Pro Publica, and other sources. For some ministries the most recent year available was 2017. For most ministries, the most recent year available was 2018 or 2019.  That means that some people on this list are no longer in their positions.  That is why in this year’s list we have included the fiscal year-end date for each ministry.

It’s also important to note that in the case of Franklin Graham, only his Samaritan’s Purse compensation is listed. He also serves as president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and (for the reason cited above) we were not able to determine what compensation he receives from BGEA.

In the case of the Inspiration Networks:  Some executives receive their salaries from a for-profit subsidiary.  The for-profit subsidiary, INSP LLC, is wholly owned by the non-profit organization The Inspirational Networks, Inc.