Most of us don't, the average church size in America is maybe 100 donating members. When you get to medium/large churches there might be a couple of paid musicians on staff supported by volunteers. Then up to the megachurches with a touring band to promote their recordings along with those staying at the home church with other leaders/frontmen being working pros
I have been playing for about 10 years. We started getting paid this year. Council felt that since the organist an choir director and others associated with the traditional service were paid that we should be as well. They also wanted to get a more consistent worship band/team and thought being paid would help. We went back and forth for a while as most of us didn't really want to be paid, and we can still choose not to sign in for payment, but in the end I think most of us take it. It is nice that we are employees, not independent contractors so we get W2's instead of 1099 which makes it a little better at tax time. We receive $75 a Sunday. That's about 45 minutes of practice/run through before worship and two 1 hour services. Basically 8 - noon. I generally play 3 Sundays a month. It makes the payment for my wife's car so it's nice I guess.
I get paid on a 1099. 1000ish member congregation. Musicians don't have to be members. 1.5 hour rehearsal during the week, 2.5 hours days of service.
I haven't done that kind of work in fifteen years, but when I did I got paid. I played for two large, well-funded churches that wanted top quality bands, so they looked outside of the church for musicians. One church involved recording and television broadcasts. They brought in lots of money from this, and I observed that the pastor and people at the top of the church drove expensive cars and wore expensive suits. The musicians were not the only ones getting paid well. I was a full-time musician at the time earning my living exclusively from music. If it were a small, struggling church that I was a member of, I wouldn't feel right about getting paid, but that was not the case.
We are a fairly big church and we are pretty well off financially. I don't mind getting paid. We don't do radio or tv or anything. We do have a nice 500-600 person worship space that we redid a couple years ago for a few million. It's pretty nice with great A/V stuff. When we were a little smaller years ago, I played for free. It was fine. I don't mind getting paid as long as it's not a burden financially to the church or takes away from other worthy ministries.
I play once or twice a month--we get the songs emailed to us during the week & we run through them once or twice before the service--same day. So you have to be quick to learn things & adaptable. But no pay--and that's okay. I'm doing it as an act of worship & service. And I love it. We do pay the worship leader a small amount as he does do more work & has more demand on his time.
Nope. I play as a volunteer ministry in a little congregation with maybe 60-70 people in it where I'm a member.
Never been paid, but my life is too busy right now and I'm dropping off of the rotation. I don't know if that would be different if I was getting money for playing at church, but it would at least be another factor to consider.
I play 1 or 2 Sundays a month. Great talent on our team and it is a joy to play with them. The best teams are when the band is made up of weekend warriors and the tunes just cook. Pay .....I figure God doesn't charge me for what he provides to me, so why should I charge for what I provide. May God bless and keep you all and remember the reason for the season. Duke