Resources for Congregations

Through the generosity of Arizona Disciples who have come before us, the Arizona Region is often able to offer various grants to our congregations and Arizona Disciples. Below is a listing, with clickable links, to various grants available to Arizona Disciples.

If you have questions about any of these grants, please contact our office.

• Congregational Vitality (CV) Grants (links to all CV Grants)
  • Website Grant
  • Land Acknowledgement Plaque Grant
  • Anti-Racism Training Grant
  • Prophetic Unity Grant
  • Other General Congregational Vitality Grants
• Leadership Training Grants
  • Leadership Training Grants: English | Español
• New Church Ministry Grants
  • Currently New Church Ministry Grants are handled by request to the New Church Ministry Leadership. Please contact our office for additional details.
• Youth and Children Scholarships
  • The Arizona Region is currently providing a 50% scholarship for campers who register prior to the early bird deadline. Contact your church office or pastor for the appropriate discount code.

It is important to our congregations, our Region, and our entire denomination that our Clergy are enabled and supported in caring for their own wellbeing. Below you will find a trove of information all related to clergy wellness. As part of our commitment to our clergy we will keep this information updated and fresh.

To help navigate this information we have grouped it into four main categories:

• Understanding Clergy Compensation (includes information and resources focused on letters of call, benefits, and professional expenses)
• Additional Support for Pastors (includes information and resources focused on Pastor Relations Committees/PRC, Retreats, and ideas for extra ways to support your pastor)
• Available Grants (includes information and and resources for grants available to clergy)
• Wellness Resources (includes resources and information focused on promoting wellness for our clergy)

Understanding Clergy Compensation

Clergy compensation is complex and differs in various ways from typical employment compensation. The information and resources below are meant to help better understand clergy compensation and help you better support your pastor. The lists below reflects typical and essential components of a letter of call.

Basic Letter of Call

A Letter of Call is the agreement between a pastor and the congregation. It sets out the initial amounts for compensation, benefits, and some professional expenses. It is recommended that congregations review this with their minister(s) each year.

Salary

This is your minister’s financial compensation. It is what enables them to pay the bills and live a thriving life. 

• Salary
• Housing Allowance

Benefits

Benefits are over and above salary, but in most cases are considered essential to most professional level careers. Comparable professional fields for ministers with at least a Master’s of Divinity degree would be teachers/principals, social workers, and attorneys. Amounts listed are typical recommendations.

• Pension (14% of Salary + Housing)
• SS offset (7.65% of Salary + Housing)
• Healthcare reimbursement
• Paid holidays (Arizona Region includes 12 – including birthday)
• Regular day(s) off each week (pastor chooses day) – publicize in newsletter 
• Vacation Days: 4 weeks (includes 4 Sundays), 5 weeks (after 5 years) 
• Educational Leave: 5-10 days a year for conferences & events – this does not include General/Regional Assembly or camps – which are part of regular work
• Sick Leave – 10 days 
• Parental Leave – 12 weeks paid leave 
• Sabbatical Plan – 3 months for every 5 years

Professional Expenses

Professional expenses are NOT a part of a pastor’s “package” or their compensation. These items don’t help pay their bills. Instead they reimburse pastors for typical expenses they incur during the course of their job. As these are not part of compensation, they should be in a different part of your budget. 

• Mileage reimbursement (use current IRS guidelines found at at this link or this link) 
• Meals – take visitors/new members/members to lunch? 
• Books – allows for continuing education 
• Education Fund – for conferences & events & workshops 
• Assembly Fund – to attend in-person General Assembly (every 3 years) 

Resources and Guides

• Understanding Ministry Compensation (Pension Fund)
• Chapter 2 (The Congregation as Employer) of the Disciples Treasurer’s Handbook: English | Español has additional detailed information about Pastoral compensation.
• Our denominational Letter of Call. 

Additional Support for Pastors

In addition to the items included in the letter of call there are other ways to support your pastor. Some involve having intentional organizational support (PRC) or intentional time for rest (retreats). Others may involve small acts that show care and compassion for your pastor. We encourage you to talk with your Pastor and be inventive.

Pastoral Relations Committee (PRC)

A PRC is an small group of persons who provide support for the pastor and provide a regular channel of communication between the pastor and the congregation. A PRC is NOT a complaint committee. 

Read and use the Disciples Guidelines for the Pastoral Relations Committee to establish or further develop your PRC. Reach out to Jay (jhartley@azdisciples.org) if you’d like help with this process.

Regional Denominational Retreats

Encourage and help financially support your minister attending Regional and General Church Retreats. These retreats offer essential times of rest, renewal, and education for your minister.

Regional Retreats

Each year the Arizona Region provides a low cost retreat for clergy with standing. This retreat provides opportunity for clergy to intentionally rest, renew, and spend critical time with colleagues. The retreat is heavily subsidized by the Region. Clergy with available professional funds are asked to pay only $50 of a total cost of approximately $400/person.

Add these dates to your church calendar and encourage your clergy to set them aside and plan to attend:

• February 2-4, 2027 Arizona Clergy Retreat
• January 31 – February 2, 2028 Arizona Clergy Retreat
• February 5-7, 2029 Arizona Clergy Retreat

Upcoming dates and more detailed information for our Regional Clergy Retreats can always be found at on our Retreats & More page.

Other Denominational Retreats

Our denominational partners are equally committed to your minister’s wellbeing and offer retreats on various schedules, often heavily subsidized or with available scholarships. These often also provide hours for your minister’s required continuing education.

AllianceQ Queer and Called Retreat
October 8-11, 2026, Atlanta, GA
This retreat is for LGBTQIA+ individuals called to ministry, justice, care, and transformation in their communities. 

Disciples Proclamation Project Preaching Retreat
November 9-11, 2026, Scottsdale, AZ
This retreat, happening right here in Arizona, offers time for ministers to rest, connect, and grow through keynotes and workshops focused on preaching.

The Gathering: A Retreat for Pastors
September 7-9, 2027, San Diego, CA
This retreat led by our Pension Fund has become one of the most attended and liked retreats for Disciples Ministers. 

Extras

Here are some extra ways you can support your Pastor, some of which have little or no impact on the congregational budget.

• Publicize your Pastor’s sabbath day in your newsletter/bulletin so all know this is a day of rest.
• Sabbatical fund – put a set amount every year into a sabbatical fund. This amount allows your minister to have discretionary funds available during their sabbatical for rest, fun, and education. You might also set aside an amount each year to pay for pastoral or preaching coverage during your ministers sabbatical.
• Gym membership (suggested by several Arizona minsters!)
• Mental health stipend to be used for counseling/therapy/coaching
• Day of fun – pay for a day of fun planned by and for the minister
• Celebrate Week of Ministry each year in October (resources by Pension Fund of the Christian Church): most recent year | previous years
• Parsonage Equity Fund for ministers living in a parsonage

Available Grants

Grants are often available through the Region, or through other denominational ministries. We will list Regional grants here, and others as we find them.

• Relief and Assistance (by Pension Fund of the Christian Church): grants available for emergency aid, disaster relief, and funeral support
• Relief and Assistance (by Week of Compassion): solidarity grants available for congregations and households English | Español
• Continuing Education Grants (by Disciples Home Missions)
• Arizona Regional Leadership Training Grants (available to clergy and lay leaders): English | Español
• Arizona Regional 2026 Day of Fun Grants (available to clergy with standing): English
• The Region hopes to offer a matching grant in 2027 to congregations that add monies to a pastors compensation or benefits. More details will be available as we approach 2027.

Wellness Resources

• Week of Ministry Resources (by Pension Fund of the Christian Church): most recent year | previous years
• Personal Finance:
  • Retirement Programs by Pension Fund of the Christian Church
  • Your Money Line by Pension Fund of the Christian Church
• Mental health and wellness resources from the National Benevolent Association

Amazing, Affordable Websites for Churches

The Region’s new website (that you’re viewing now!) was designed and developed by Chris Liu-Beers at Tomatillo Design. He specializes in custom-built WordPress websites for churches and nonprofit organizations. With more than 150 projects built over 10+ years, he has an outstanding track record of success. You can view his portfolio, pricing and process here: tomatillodesign.com.

Photo Resources

• Canva (www.canva.com)
  • Create flyers, Facebook images, banners, postcards etc.
  • Free and inexpensive paid service
  • Free and inexpensive images/photos

Content Resources

• urbandictionary.com
  • Use to check modern slang and colloquialisms (link includes strong language)
• bitly.com
  • Use to shorten longer links (especially with social media)

Photo Release Form

Obtaining a photo release form prior to using someones likeness online or in promotional material is a critical step in caring for our church communities. Linked below is a form with standard release language that any of our Arizona Disciples congregations can download and use as a photo release within their community.

Download the Photo Release Form for Congregations: English | Español

You will notice that the form also includes the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Arizona. We have included the Region as a helpful measure, however if an individual would like to exclude the Region simply strike through “and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Arizona“.

Insurance

• The Steward (Quarterly Resource Newsletter)
• Online Leaning (Free Webinars)
• Safety Resources (each section includes guides, sample policies, and templates)

The General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), upon recommendation of its General Board, recognizes Insurance board as a recognized ministry partner. Through covenantal relationship, the Insurance Board seeks to be the insurance program of choice for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Read More about our partnership.

Visit Disciples Mission Fund anytime for more information about Special Offerings or additional resources.

Week of Compassion is the relief, refugee, and development fund of the church.

Easter Offering supports the General Ministries of the church. General Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) support our denomination through ministries like the National Benevolent Association, Disciples Women, Disciples Home Missions, Central Pastoral Office for Hispanic Ministries, and many more. Additionally they support the Office of the General Minister and President which helps administer our denomination.

Pentecost Offering supports Disciples new church development. Planning, nurturing and sustaining new congregation is part of the Disciples’ vision. Half of this offering is received by New Church Ministry to support the recruitment, assessment, training and coaching of new church leaders at events like Leadership Academy. The other half comes back to support New Church Development right here in Arizona!

Reconciliation Ministry leads the pro-reconciliation/anti-racism work of the Church. One half of this offering goes to the General Reconciliation Ministry administered by the Reconciliation Ministry Commission made up of volunteers from around our church body. The other half comes back to support Reconciliation right here in Arizona!

Thanksgiving Offering benefits the Colleges, Universities, Seminaries, and Divinity Houses affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Christmas Offering offering supports the ministries of our Region. Your generous gifts make a difference in our shared ministries throughout the Region. Contact the Regional Office for more information. Additional Christmas Offering materials are available at Disciples Mission Fund.