Is it time for churches to pay praise and worship team members?

Should churches pay creatives who serve in their services?

This is the million-dollar question after a high-grossing church clashed with an entertainer on social media earlier last week.

It all started when popular musician Dan Aceda advised entertainers to shun churches, saying they do not value them. His bone of contention is with Christ Is The Answer Ministries (Citam) following a call to action posted by the church on its social media platforms asking creatives to register with them.

“I have seen that @CITAMKE has put out a call for creatives to join their database. I am here to tell ALL creatives to avoid these people kabisa. In fact, avoid all churches. Wacha kabisa. The Church doesn't pay for creative work. You will get depressed bure. Avoid kabisa,” Aceda wrote.

“You can see what's happening to gospel musicians. Hakuna pesa so they have to leave. Na wanapigwa kama mbwa. Church will steal your song, use it, make money then curse you for taking a paying gig elsewhere. Avoid avoid avoid. Avoid my dear friend. Avoid,” he added.

Aceda’s outburst immediately prompted Citam to respond, saying that members voluntarily render their services without any form of manipulation.

“CITAM has clear policies when engaging congregants & members for involvement. Our members, without any form of manipulation or exploitation, are allowed to participate in ministry work in fulfilling our mission of knowing God and making Him known through evangelism & missions,” responded CITAM.

The conversation sparked a debate online, with netizens seeking the answer to one question.

Should the church pay creatives for services rendered?

Most gospel artistes seem to be caught in a catch-22 situation where churches expect them to use their talent without demanding any pay because they are “offering their services to God”, which should be free.

But artistes like Aceda are challenging the status quo, saying churches should pay members who serve on Sundays and other days – just like they pay pastors and bishops.

“My firm belief is that the work people do in church is actually work. The people in the praise and worship team are actually professionals and the Church does not just pick anyone to be part of that team. They have specific standards,” he said.

“The problem is that we have an exploitative economy which pastors have used badly. Where we are in 2021 Churches can afford to pay. For instance, imagine a worship leader spends most of their time in church. They have to attend numerous rehearsals during the week and on Sunday arrive as early as six in the morning,” he went on.

Once a worship leader himself, Aceda says he used to arrive at 6:30am every Sunday, and attend several rehearsal sessions during the week. It was no longer a hobby but a full-time job.

“Pastors are paid and musicians should also be paid. Where is the idea that some work should be free? The bible, which is the most popular book in the world, has to be bought. It is not free. It is just bad manners by some of the churches who do not appreciate creatives. This is the reason I stopped going to church when I saw the mistreatment of creative people,” Aceda explained.

In the traditional setting of the church, Aceda argues anyone would be allowed to sing in church regardless of whether they have a musical background.

However, things started changing and churches would insist on professional music directors, singers and percussionists to lead the praise and worship sessions.

But not all artistes agree on getting a stipend from the church. Singer Mercy Masika advises artistes to stop viewing the church as a place where they can make money, but a place to grow their networks.

“When I started my career I always knew that I never wanted to work for the church. I have never looked at the church as a place where I can be paid. I usually do it for free,” Masika said.

But the “Mwema” hit-maker argues that it is time Kenyan churches should consider compensating members of the praise and worship teams.

“Look at other cultures, for example, in Nigeria. People in the worship team get a lot of support, that is why we see that industry progressing. Here in Kenya, those who sing in the worship teams are mostly broke,” she said.

This results in the music getting diluted because their minds are occupied with how they can make money and support themselves.

A 2017 Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) listing of taxpayers revealed that some churches are doing business with annual turnovers of between Sh350 million and Sh1 billion, signalling increased involvement by religious institutions in taxable commercial activities to boost their incomes.

These include Coptic Orthodox Church, Citam and Seventh Day Adventist Church.

But while most bishops and pastors are well looked after, including having cars, houses and handsome monthly pay, most of the church “servants” are expected to do it as a calling.

However, Citam insists that creatives under their umbrella do get some form of compensation.

“Different churches have different modules. I can speak for Citam and say that our creatives are given some form of allowance. This is an old debate, which is still in discussion. For instance, if today we said that worship leaders should start being paid a salary, then it would open a can of worms where everyone serving in the Church including ushers and Sunday school teachers would demand pay,” Bishop Calisto Odede of Citam Church told the Nation.

“Most churches have not yet reached that level of hiring full-time creatives. For instance, if a worship leader gives seven hours of their time to the church, should that person be considered a staff of the church, unlike pastors, who are employees of the Church?” he posed.

Bishop Odede explained that the reason Citam issued an advertisement asking creatives to join their database was that they have realised the world is changing and this has also affected how the gospel is communicated.

“We are realising that the world has brought about different ways of communicating the gospel, through drama, film, spoken word. And we have to change from the traditional ways of communication. At CITAM we have started developing these new ways for our Church and we want people to use their gifts to serve God,” he said.

[email protected]