Your Guide to Meeting the Qualifications of a Pastor in Colorado

Salary Expectations for Pastor Jobs in Colorado

In 2022, clergy members in Colorado earned an average of $61,400, placing the state among the top 10 in the nation for salaries among Christian leaders. More experienced members of clergy, earning in the top ten percent, made $93,530 or more that year.

Earning an average salary of $64,700, religious directors also do very well in Colorado. In fact, church directors in the Denver metro area earn the fourth-highest average salary of all metropolitan areas in the nation, at $56,030. Those at the top of their field, earning in the 90th percentile, made more than $101,650 that year.

Step 4. Consider Forming a Christian Ministry of Your Own in Colorado

Senior pastors understand how a profession can be both extremely fulfilling, and at the same time extremely challenging. But for some the calling doesn’t stop there. You may feel compelled to start your own faith community, a calling that’s especially present among pastors at an advanced stage in their careers.

This is a journey of faith in itself, which is why going into it with open eyes about the legal and accounting issues is important.

There are two angles you need to consider when incorporating your church as a non-profit organization: Colorado’s state regulations and the federal regulations with the IRS.

At the state level:

• Your first step is to choose a name for your church. Check the Colorado Secretary of State’s business database to confirm that your name isn’t being used by another entity.
• Next file Articles of Incorporation for a non-profit and related forms with the Colorado Secretary of State. These describe your church’s governance and management system. You’ll also need to establish bylaws and a conflict-of-interest policy, and these should be based on your Articles of Incorporation.

At this point you can start your 501(c)(3) application with the IRS that establishes your church as a non-profit charitable organization. To do this:

• Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) using an SS-4 Form.
• Submit your Articles of Incorporation, bylaws, and conflict of interest policy to the IRS. You also need to draft a Declaration of Trust that describes how your church’s assets will be distributed.
• Submit a Form 1023 to the IRS ($275 fee); this is your official application for non-profit 501(c)(3) status.

While you’re waiting for your IRS 501(c)(3) status to be approved, you’ll need to circle back and complete the remaining Colorado state-level requirements:

• Apply for a Colorado Sales Tax and Withholding Account (charitable) with the Colorado Department of Revenue.
• If you plan to hire employees you need to file for an unemployment insurance account with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
• Finally, you’ll want to submit an application for sales tax exemption and a non-profit church statement to the Colorado Department of Revenue.
• Once you have all this taken care of, your last step is to register your church as a charitable organization with the Colorado Secretary of State, a process you can complete online.

While it might seem like a lot of paperwork, if you take the forms one at a time it’s just a matter of working through them. And in the grand scheme of things these are a few small hurdles you can overcome relatively quickly.

With the paperwork out of the way you’ll be able to devote yourself to fulfilling your calling full-time, planting your own church and making Jesus’ name known throughout your local region and perhaps one day across the state. And why stop there?

2022 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures and job market trends for Religious Workers, Church Directors, and Clergy based on state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed July 2023.