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Chaplain vs children's minister

The differences between chaplains and children's ministers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a chaplain and a children's minister. Additionally, a chaplain has an average salary of $46,392, which is higher than the $45,421 average annual salary of a children's minister.

The top three skills for a chaplain include patients, social work and clinical pastoral. The most important skills for a children's minister are outreach events, bible studies, and VBS.

Chaplain vs children's minister overview

ChaplainChildren's Minister
Yearly salary$46,392$45,421
Hourly rate$22.30$21.84
Growth rate--
Number of jobs2,6008,614
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age5151
Years of experience44

Chaplain vs children's minister salary

Chaplains and children's ministers have different pay scales, as shown below.

ChaplainChildren's Minister
Average salary$46,392$45,421
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $83,000Between $25,000 And $79,000
Highest paying CitySan Jose, CA-
Highest paying stateCalifornia-
Best paying companyUofL Hospital-
Best paying industryHealth Care-

Differences between chaplain and children's minister education

There are a few differences between a chaplain and a children's minister in terms of educational background:

ChaplainChildren's Minister
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common majorTheologyTheology
Most common collegeEmory UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Chaplain vs children's minister demographics

Here are the differences between chaplains' and children's ministers' demographics:

ChaplainChildren's Minister
Average age5151
Gender ratioMale, 68.3% Female, 31.7%Male, 36.5% Female, 63.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 6.6% White, 68.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage16%16%

Differences between chaplain and children's minister duties and responsibilities

Chaplain example responsibilities.

  • Provide full pastoral ministry, visitation and counseling to inmates and incarcerate patients.
  • Participate as members of a psychiatric or rehabilitation team in staff conferences concerning patients and inmates.
  • Perform functions in field and combat environments, combat lifesaver tasks and apply communication skills in crisis/potential suicide intervention.
  • Visit patients/families identify as appropriate for pastoral services and provide direct spiritual counseling, prayer, and ministry as appropriate.
  • Certify in ASIST (suicideprevention )
  • Participate in bi-weekly IDG meetings as part of IDG team.
  • Show more

Children's minister example responsibilities.

  • Lead church to incorporate a vision for integrating evangelistic and discipleship efforts.
  • Revamp 5th & 6th grade VBS to be more age appropriate in a large group concept.
  • Plan and give oversight of all children's activities.
  • Perform other various functions as needed including communication with church leadership to ensure efficient operations for church outreach activities.
  • Develop deacons in fulfilling their respective leadership obligations.

Chaplain vs children's minister skills

Common chaplain skills
  • Patients, 21%
  • Social Work, 11%
  • Clinical Pastoral, 10%
  • Spiritual Care, 8%
  • Pastoral Care, 7%
  • Patient Care, 5%
Common children's minister skills
  • Outreach Events, 18%
  • Bible Studies, 14%
  • VBS, 12%
  • Children Birth, 8%
  • Oversight, 5%
  • Children Ages, 5%

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