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TL;DR Wasilla Bible Church streamlined its payroll with Gusto and Parable, reducing stress, saving time, and creating more room for ministry impact. 1. Old systems were disconnected, manual, and error-prone. 2. Gusto centralized payroll, HR, and reviews in one platform. 3. Parable filled the church-specific gaps like housing allowances. 4. The result: less stress, more trust, and more time for ministry. |
Wasilla Bible Church is on mission to reach people
But their payroll systems weren’t keeping up.
Nestled in the Alaskan landscape, Wasilla Bible Church gathers 800 to 1,000 people each Sunday. With a team that spans full-time, part-time, and seasonal roles, the church is grounded in community, authenticity, and Gospel impact.
Behind the scenes, like the many churches, the church was navigating the complexities of disconnected systems that meant more time on logistics and less time on ministry.
Until they made one game-changing move.
When Church Payroll Gets Complicated
Before Gusto, Wasilla Bible Church was using one platform to track hours and another to run payroll. The two systems didn’t integrate, which meant every pay period involved a manual process of downloading timesheets, entering them into the payroll platform, double-checking for errors, and hoping nothing slipped through the cracks.
Not only was it inefficient, it was stressful. As a newer team member without a background in finance, Director of Operations, Brittney Kroon, was navigating church payroll with high stakes and limited margin for error.
“It was the scariest thing for me,” she shared. “I did not want to mess up people’s paychecks. And churches are different–with the housing allowance and things like that.”
For Brittney, the tension was clear: church payroll wasn’t just time-consuming. It was error-prone and could impact others.
A Smoother Way Forward
Acknowledging the need for a more streamlined solution, Wasilla Bible made the switch to Gusto, a modern, digital platform for payroll and HR, in partnership with Parable.
Naturally, the transition wasn’t without bumps. “Change is just hard,” Brittany admitted. “Our people had to adjust.” But the team was already familiar with online systems, making the shift more manageable, and the benefits quickly became obvious.
Using Gusto, Brittany and her team gained access to a wide range of tools: time tracking, time-off requests, employee onboarding, file management, and annual performance reviews–all centralized in one clean, easy-to-navigate platform.
“It’s nice having it in one place,” reflected Brittney. “We always had written reviews or typed ones and then it’s all over the place. Now it’s just attached to their profile.”
Simply put, Gusto made church payroll faster, more accurate, and less overwhelming.
Beyond the Paycheck
Gusto’s value went beyond payroll. For Brittney, one of the biggest wins was how the platform helped support and care for their team.
“It’s made it so much easier to support the staff,” she said. “Being able to enter hours, ask for PTO, that kind of stuff… it streamlines things.”
An additional and unexpected benefit was help keeping up with the more obscure but necessary tasks. “I’m new to HR,” Brittney explained. “But Gusto partners with companies that help with tax laws. They’ll send me notifications like, ‘Okay, this is a new law to post for your team,’ and I’m like thank you for that. Because I didn’t know.”
Church payroll may not seem like a ministry function at first glance, but when done well, it becomes a vehicle for showing care, building trust, and serving the people behind the ministry.
The Church Payroll Catch: What to Know Before You Dive In
When asked what she would share with churches considering Gusto, Brittney had one caveat: Gusto isn’t a platform built for churches.
“Just know that you’ll have stuff about churches that you need to work through.”
Housing allowances, clergy tax exemptions, and other church-specific items may not be Gusto’s speciality, but that’s where a partnership with Parable comes in.
A Better Way to Handle Church Payroll
Wasilla Bible Church didn’t just implement Gusto—they combined it with the church-specific knowledge and service of the Parable team. That combo made all the difference.
“I don’t know Gusto without Parable,” Brittney said. “So in my mind, they’re together. Combined, they’re amazing.”
With Gusto as the engine and Parable as the navigator, Wasilla Bible finally had a system that both streamlined the many facets of payroll and HR while addressing the unique challenges of church finance.
It saved time. It added peace of mind. And it gave Brittney—and her team—the margin to focus on what matters most.
Payroll once took hours of manual entry and plenty of second-guessing. The new system transformed the process into something manageable–and even empowering.
Through Gusto and their partnership with Parable, not only was a burden lifted, but it created more time and energy for mission-critical work. Church payroll became something that served ministry, rather than distracted from it.
Long Story Short: A Better Payroll System Can Help You Serve Better
Church payroll may never be glamorous–but it doesn’t have to be painful. For Wasilla Bible Church, streamlining church payroll through Gusto meant more clarity, less stress, and a way to care for the team who tirelessly serves their community.
If your church is feeling the strain of disconnected systems, manual entry, and the lack of bandwidth that comes with it, you’re not alone. There’s a better way. Wasilla Bible found it, and so can you. Learn more about Gusto and Parable’s Payroll Services here.
