Our Staff in 1974

The church staff was one of the major changes from a traditional church structure that was made possible by the Ministering Community. As discussed in the little article by Ken Pagaard, clergy/lay distinctions were abolished. Salaries were minimal stipends based upon need -- in a community setting. People living in the ministering community shared in common everything financially. Someone working at a secular job placed their salary into the collective purse. One on the staff gave their stipend. If one had no job, they put in nothing. From the collective purse, all bills were paid and each person received an allowance of $5/week to spend anyway that we wanted. Clothing and other needs were paid by the household.

We continued to pay in this manner until 1981. At that time, I was pastoring the church and making $625 per month according to the schedule per the article. At that time, my family and I moved out of the community. The cheapest rent we could find was $650 per month. Obviously, this kind of schedule only works when living in common within community. This necessitated the first major pay change since 1974 and the start of my wife's banking career.