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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

City Of Zion Church

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 841637539
MD · NTEE X21
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Gregory Strong, Executive Director / CEO ($65,275) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 185 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 72nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Gregory Strong — reported title “PASTOR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

185 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 185 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,697 total compensation of comparable organizations → $166,982 $65,275
$17,96510th
$27,26525th
$40,868Median
$69,43675th
$92,90090th
$65,275This org · 72nd
p10$17,965
p25$27,265
p50$40,868
p75$69,436
p90$92,900
$65,275

Comparable organizations

Each figure is Form 990 Part VII columns D + F (reportable pay plus other compensation and benefits; column F may include amounts from related organizations), normalized to MD cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
Saul To Paul Ministries IN$155,939 Director $28,844 $31,602 2024
Jewish Center And Federation Of The NY$155,588 Executive Director (Part Year) $18,795 $18,166 2023
Joshua And Caleb Ministries Inc PA$155,349 Chairman $44,791 $47,777 2023
Culturebound Inc OR$157,370 Exectuive Director $55,200 $51,885 2025
Blue Ocean Faith CA$152,755 Executive Director $124,669 $115,147 2023
Apache Youth Ministries Inc AZ$152,287 Program Coordinator $43,390 $44,635 2023
Jay Eberly Ministries Inc IA$151,928 Director $57,147 $65,008 2024
Ministerio Internasional Puert NJ$151,578 President $41,600 $39,728 2023
One Accord Ministries CO$151,007 Office Manager $28,000 $28,718 2023
International Ethiopian Evangelical Church Germantown MD$160,973 Pastor $24,058 $24,058 2023
Tom Farrell Evangelistic Ministries Inc NC$161,436 Exec Dir $18,000 $19,323 2024
Cbs Lebanon Inc TX$150,137 President & Ceo $102,000 $109,136 2023
The Living Word Outdoor Drama Inc OH$162,084 Executive Di $35,360 $40,059 2023
Biblical Nouthetic Ministries NY$149,599 Sec/treas $33,800 $31,732 2024
Ministerio Internacional Evangelio MA$149,224 President $32,600 $30,436 2024
Onesimus Ministry CA$162,845 Rev. & President $43,680 $40,344 2023
Frontline Ministries Inc SC$162,941 President $42,000 $46,867 2023
Uk Usa Ministries TX$163,586 Director $21,000 $21,825 2024
Chinese Outreach CA$163,643 Program Producer $32,246 $28,929 2024
Tommy Bates Ministries Inc KY$147,112 President/trus $14,000 $16,088 2023
David Crain New Life Ministries TX$146,736 President $34,054 $35,391 2024
New Sower Christian Church Cor NY$146,635 Teacher Minist $28,300 $27,353 2023
Trowbridge Ministries AZ$146,613 President $32,299 $32,272 2024
Friends Church Extension Fund OR$146,565 Treasurer $10,000 $9,648 2024
America's Family Coaches Inc IA$165,341 President, Ceo $60,000 $70,270 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MD cost of living and 2023 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.

Methodology

Comparable organizations were drawn from electronically filed IRS Form 990 returns and matched on sector (NTEE code), budget (a size-adaptive revenue band that tightens as the organization grows), and geography (same-state first, broadening only when too few peers qualify); every organization within the band forms the peer set. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to MD cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023) and to the subject's filing year (CPI-U). The figure benchmarked is Form 990 Part VII, Section A, columns D + F — reportable pay plus other compensation, benefits, and deferred amounts (column F may include amounts from related organizations) — with the chief executive matched by role. Related-organization amounts (column E) and institutional trustees are excluded. Full methodology: peerbasis.org/methodology.

Sample, role match & sensitivity

Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:

BasisSubject percentile
Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default72nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)75th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted78th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted72nd

If the percentile moves materially across these definitions, the result is sensitive to methodology choices, and the board should weigh which basis best fits its facts.

Rebuttable presumption of reasonableness · 26 CFR 53.4958-6

Compensation paid by a tax-exempt organization is presumed reasonable — shifting the burden to the IRS — when three requirements are met. This report supplies the comparability data for the second. The board should record the following in its minutes concurrently with its decision:

Draft board minutes — executive compensation

  1. The compensation of the Executive Director / CEO (Gregory Strong) was approved in advance by [the Board / Compensation Committee], composed of members with no conflict of interest with respect to the arrangement.
  2. Prior to its determination, the authorized body obtained and relied upon appropriate comparability data, namely the PeerBasis Compensation Comparability Determination dated June 9, 2026, comparing compensation against 185 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (X21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $65,275 is reasonable (approximately the 72nd percentile of comparable organizations) and documented the basis for this determination concurrently, on [date], by a vote of [__ for / __ against].

Sources: IRS Form 990 e-file data (apps.irs.gov); IRS Business Master File (NTEE classification). Every figure traces to an original public filing — click any organization above to verify it on ProPublica. PeerBasis is a service of Prismind Analytics; its methodology is published, was commissioned for independent adversarial review, and discloses its own limitations. This report is comparability data to support a board's good-faith determination under IRC 4958; it is not legal or tax advice. Generated by PeerBasis on June 9, 2026.