What Does a Children's Pastor Do

When it comes to the most important skills required to be a children's pastor, we found that a lot of resumes listed 35.2% of children's pastors included child care, while 12.2% of resumes included kids, and 10.7% of resumes included curriculum development. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.

How To Become a Children's Pastor

If you're interested in becoming a children's pastor, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 63.4% of children's pastors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 14.8% of children's pastors have master's degrees. Even though most children's pastors have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Children's Pastor Career Paths

Top Careers Before Children's Pastor

Top Careers After Children's Pastor

Average Salary for a Children's Pastor

Children's Pastors in America make an average salary of $44,525 per year or $21 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $75,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $26,000 per year.
Average Children's Pastor Salary
$44,525 Yearly
$21.41 hourly

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Roles and Types of Children's Pastor

There are several types of children's pastor, including:

Pastor

Role:

A pastor leads a congregation of people and is responsible for their spiritual nourishment. They are responsible for assisting in church financial matters and overseeing the management of all areas of a congregation's ministry. They support, oversee and evaluate congregation staff by holding regular meetings to coordinate ministries.

Further duties include ensuring church facilities are functioning, leading religious worship services, providing counseling to parish members, including comforting them when they are distressed, visiting those who are sick, or offering advice on important decisions, performing religious ceremonies such as baptisms, weddings, and funerals, organizing and directing charitable efforts and fostering a sense of community, and composing and delivering sermons.

A pastor should have a strong character with impartiality and compassion for the concerns and struggles of others. He/She should have public speaking skills and the ability to communicate clearly. They earn an average of $44,708 per year. Most denominations require a pastor to complete higher education, such as earning a bachelor's degree in theology or religious studies. Some go through the seminary, theological college, or divinity school.
  • Average Salary: $44,787
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Chaplain

Role:

A chaplain performs religious rites, worship services and even provides confidential counseling. They devote their lives to advising others on religious, spiritual and moral topics. Sometimes they'll work for the military and other times they work for a hospital.

When it comes to becoming a chaplain, the more education you have the better. While most chaplains have a Master's degree, there are some positions that require a Doctoral level of education. It's definitely a dream job for people who like promoting peace and helping others.
  • Average Salary: $46,392
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Youth Pastor

Role:

A youth pastor works in a church whereby he/she or she is responsible for the spiritual guidance of the younger members of the church. He/She or she leads children, teenagers, and young adults with the ultimate objective of fostering their spiritual growth and sharing the values and mission of the church. They do this by educating them about Christianity, encouraging them to worship, and encouraging them to take part in volunteer work. They also organize retreats, bible study lessons, community outreaches, etc.

A youth pastor works under the supervision of a senior pastor. In order to succeed in the role, youth pastors should be strong in their faith and should have a passion for sharing the gospel. They should also have the ability to connect with young people, confidence, leadership skills, communication skills, interpersonal skills, and the ability to inspire others.

Youth pastors have a rather flexible work schedule. They work an average of 40 hours a week. Their working hours also depend on the schedule of activities.
  • Average Salary: $39,712
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Children's Pastor Jobs

Number Of Children's Pastor Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1North Carolina14$42,422
2Texas14$40,432
3California10$66,960
4Minnesota9$39,605
5New York8$44,166
6Florida8$33,412
7Tennessee4$43,708
8South Carolina4$42,599
9Virginia4$37,469
10Illinois4$34,877
11Maine3$52,686
12Indiana3$39,121
13Wisconsin3$38,781
14Colorado3$41,856
15Massachusetts3$42,320
16Kentucky3$36,653
17Georgia3$38,584
18Iowa3$36,075
19West Virginia2$49,310
20Nevada2$47,697
21Hawaii2$52,632
22Connecticut2$46,476
23Washington2$47,590
24Alaska2$28,860
25Ohio2$36,880
26New Jersey2$40,360
27Missouri2$36,834
28Pennsylvania2$37,099
29Montana2$28,625
30Delaware1$49,901
31Wyoming1$43,771
32Arizona1$49,798
33North Dakota1$37,816
34New Mexico1$39,387
35Oregon1$42,595
36Maryland1$41,128
37Louisiana1$37,213
38Michigan1$36,597
39Rhode Island0$50,468
40Vermont0$47,479
41Idaho0$46,485
42New Hampshire0$44,333
43Utah0$42,138
44Kansas0$37,824
45Oklahoma0$37,241
46Alabama0$36,306
47Arkansas0$33,556
48Mississippi0$31,808
49Nebraska0$31,480
50South Dakota0$30,356

Children's Pastor Education

Children's Pastor Majors

25.3 %

Children's Pastor Degrees

Bachelors

63.4 %

Masters

14.8 %

Associate

12.9 %

Top Colleges for Children's Pastors

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Education
Biology
Business
Communication
History

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Biology
Business
Liberal Arts
Communication
Psychology

3. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Biology
Communication
Psychology
Education

4. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Biology
Education
Communication
Psychology

5. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Liberal Arts
Business
Biology
Education
Psychology

6. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Education
Business
Biology
History
Theology

7. SUNY at Buffalo

Buffalo, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,099

Enrollment

21,404

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Biology
Psychology
Communication
Education

8. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Education
Communication
Biology
Psychology

9. Emory University

Atlanta, GA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,306

Enrollment

6,975

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Biology
Business
Theology
Psychology
History

10. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Education
Biology
Psychology
Liberal Arts

Top Skills For a Children's Pastor

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Children's Pastor Demographics

Children's Pastor Gender Distribution

Male
Male
61%
Female
Female
39%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among children's pastors, 39.1% of them are women, while 60.9% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among children's pastors is White, which makes up 67.9% of all children's pastors.

  • The most common foreign language among children's pastors is Spanish at 47.4%.

Online Courses For Children's Pastor That You May Like

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3. Children's Human Rights - An Interdisciplinary Introduction

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Drawing on the contributions of several academic disciplines including law, psychology, sociology, history, educational and health sciences, economy and anthropology, an interdisciplinary approach guides the student into a selection of critical issues concerning children’s rights. Participants will gain insight relative to the development of this specific human rights category, as well as to the evolution of the challenges faced by children over time and society’s efforts to respond. Successful...

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Top Children's Pastor Employers

Most Common Employers For Children's Pastor

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Hickory Grove Christian School$44,335$21.312
2Heritage Christian School$41,975$20.182
3Peoples Church$40,178$19.322
4Orlando Weekly$37,877$18.212
5River of Life Assembly$37,552$18.052
6Bethany Church$29,039$13.963
7Grace Church$28,995$13.944
8Faith Church$28,950$13.923
9Trinity Baptist Church of Jacksonville$28,782$13.842
10Freedom church$28,776$13.836