Chaplain vs children's pastor

The differences between chaplains and children's pastors 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 pastor. Additionally, a chaplain has an average salary of $46,392, which is higher than the $44,525 average annual salary of a children's pastor.

The top three skills for a chaplain include patients, social work and clinical pastoral. The most important skills for a children's pastor are child care, kids, and curriculum development.

Chaplain vs children's pastor overview

	Chaplain	Children's Pastor
Yearly salary	$46,392	$44,525
Hourly rate	$22.30	$21.41
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	2,600	8,658
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	4	4

Chaplain vs children's pastor salary

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

	Chaplain	Children's Pastor
Average salary	$46,392	$44,525
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $83,000	Between $26,000 And $75,000
Highest paying City	San Jose, CA	-
Highest paying state	California	-
Best paying company	UofL Hospital	-
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between chaplain and children's pastor education

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

	Chaplain	Children's Pastor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Theology	Theology
Most common college	Emory University	University of Pennsylvania

Chaplain vs children's pastor demographics

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

	Chaplain	Children's Pastor
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 68.3% Female, 31.7%	Male, 60.9% Female, 39.1%
Race ratio	Black 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, 11.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 6.7% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between chaplain and children's pastor 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.

Children's pastor example responsibilities.

Create and manage online presence via Facebook.
Organize and lead weekly youth group meetings as well as retreats for jr. and sr. high students.
Schedule appointments; coordinate summer camps, VBS and all meetings for the children's ministry.
Work with children in the VBS.
Handle administrative responsibilities and policy development, keep volunteer records and develop a vision manual and serve on leadership team.
Handle administrative responsibilities and policy development, keep volunteer records and develop a vision manual and serve on leadership team.

Chaplain vs children's pastor skills

Common chaplain skills

Patients, 21%
Social Work, 11%
Clinical Pastoral, 10%
Spiritual Care, 8%
Pastoral Care, 7%
Patient Care, 5%

Common children's pastor skills

Child Care, 35%
Kids, 12%
Curriculum Development, 11%
Outreach Events, 6%
Ministry Programs, 5%
Children Birth, 3%