Post job
zippia ai icon

Automatically apply for jobs with Zippia

Upload your resume to get started.

Children's pastor skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted experts
Dr. Jill DeTemple Ph.D.,
Leah Thomas Ph.D.
Children's pastor example skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical children's pastor skills. We ranked the top skills for children's pastors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 35.2% of children's pastor resumes contained child care as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a children's pastor needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 children's pastor skills for your resume and career

1. Child Care

Child care means the care, supervision, or guidance of a child by a person other than the child's parent, guardian, or custodian for periods of less than 24 hours. Childcare could be either center-based such as a daycare or a nursery or home-based care such as nannies or family daycare.

Here's how children's pastors use child care:
  • Oversee and supervise all child care staff for Sunday and mid week infant and toddler programs.
  • Recruited and supervised volunteer Sunday School teachers and paid child care workers.

2. Kids

Here's how children's pastors use kids:
  • Directed, planned, and organized church-wide fellowships such as Church Picnics, Father-Daughter dance, and Kids Fall Fests.
  • Work with about 30-40 kids twice a week for Christian education and entertainment for church kids

3. Curriculum Development

Here's how children's pastors use curriculum development:
  • Coordinated and led after-school program for elementary aged children, including curriculum development.
  • Directed age-appropriate curriculum development and implementation for all children and youth programs.

4. Outreach Events

Here's how children's pastors use outreach events:
  • Altered the lives of 12 youths through outreach events and weekly meetings with the assistance from a team of five volunteers.
  • Helped develop student leaders, coordinated weekly luncheon, and planned Bible studies and outreach events.

5. Ministry Programs

Here's how children's pastors use ministry programs:
  • Developed church- and community-based ministry programs for children
  • Administered children's ministry programs in a church of about 150 children and 750 total Sunday attendance.

6. Children Birth

Here's how children's pastors use children birth:
  • Provided oversight and vision for children birth through 6th grade resulting in over 650 children in weekly attendance.
  • Develop, teach, and support a Christian educational program for children birth- 6th grade.

Choose from 10+ customizable children's pastor resume templates

Build a professional children's pastor resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your children's pastor resume.

7. Nursery

Here's how children's pastors use nursery:
  • Managed Creative Arts Director/Curriculum Writer, Nursery Coordinator, Elementary Age Coordinator and Media Tech Director.
  • Mailed out nursery schedules, recruited volunteers, organized childcare for groups, and any other meetings.

8. VBS

Here's how children's pastors use vbs:
  • Developed, and taught Vacation Bible School (VBS), and Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving events.
  • Coordinated VBS program which grew from average of 150 children to over 500 during my tenure.

9. Pastoral Care

Here's how children's pastors use pastoral care:
  • Managed all church programming birth-adult*Responsible for pastoral care *Planning and implementing worship *Mentoring and teaching
  • Scheduled pastoral care of parishioners.

10. Oversight

Having oversight of someone means to monitor a process or a situation. If someone has oversight of something, they are responsible for the completion of the project. Oversight is usually given to experts as they monitor their juniors or newbies as they go through a project.

Here's how children's pastors use oversight:
  • Volunteer recruitment, retention, training, and oversight of the Children's Ministry.
  • Provided oversight of the contracts for the children ministry.

11. Cast Vision

Here's how children's pastors use cast vision:
  • Work close with executive staff to cast vision for all areas of ministry.

12. Public Schools

Public schools are available for everyone. They are funded and controlled by the government. With state guidance, each school board determines the curricula, finances, and jobs for schools within its borders. The government also decides on academic standards and standardised tests.

Here's how children's pastors use public schools:
  • Started a ministry going into public schools for assemblies and after school Bible Clubs.
  • Experience working in public schools doing Good News Clubs with Child Evangelism Fellowship.

13. GOD

Here's how children's pastors use god:
  • Cultivate Christ-centered relationships and mentor each one in developing their relationship with God.
  • Developed an inviting God focused program which fostered continual growth.

14. Event Planning

Here's how children's pastors use event planning:
  • Coordinated event planning with other departments.
  • Supervised and collaborated with the youth council to ensure that all phases of event planning were accounted for and seamlessly implemented.

15. Public Speaking

Public Speaking or oration, as it is sometimes known, is the act of any one person speaking live in front of an audience. Although in the past the audience was only a physical one, nowadays oration might be done on an online video call, at a digital conference, at an online class, or elsewhere. The art of public speaking is very old, drawing its first established roots from Ancient Greece and likely from before, too. It is an important skill and asset in many industries.

Here's how children's pastors use public speaking:
  • Prepared for and conducted public speaking engagements including fall retreats, weekend conferences and Sunday morning services.
  • Enhanced public speaking skills by conversing in large group settings
top-skills

What skills help Children's Pastors find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on children's pastor resumes?

Dr. Jill DeTemple Ph.D.Dr. Jill DeTemple Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Department Chair, Professor, Southern Methodist University

Our graduates tell us employers often note the rarity of religious studies degrees, and then go on to remark with excitement about things like intercultural competence and communication skills that the degree supports. For more on that see: Smu

What soft skills should all children's pastors possess?

Leah Thomas Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care and Contextual Education, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary

In my students, I encourage the development of soft skills such as deep listening, empathy, authenticity, flexibility, integrity, trustworthiness, and a collaborative leadership style. These skills exist alongside commitments to ongoing spiritual formation, self and theological reflection and reflexivity, ongoing education and supervision, and care of the self's physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual parts.

What children's pastor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Rev. Elliott AndersonRev. Elliott Anderson LinkedIn profile

Assistant Professor of Psychology, Judson University

The best way to maximize your salary in pastoral ministries is to not focus on it. Find a job in ministry you love and allow the financial returns to follow a strong work ethic, a recognition and acceptance of your current role, and a consideration of further ones that have more earning potential, but only as they fit the man or woman you are and want to be. One of the biggest mistakes in ministry is leaving a job we love and are effective in to simply earn more money in a different role that we don't like, that doesn't fit our spiritual gifts or experience, and where we quickly lose our joy in the faith and our joy in our pastoral roles.

List of children's pastor skills to add to your resume

Children's pastor skills

The most important skills for a children's pastor resume and required skills for a children's pastor to have include:

  • Child Care
  • Kids
  • Curriculum Development
  • Outreach Events
  • Ministry Programs
  • Children Birth
  • Nursery
  • VBS
  • Pastoral Care
  • Oversight
  • Cast Vision
  • Public Schools
  • GOD
  • Event Planning
  • Public Speaking
  • Community Events
  • Easter
  • RAN
  • Summer Camps
  • Background Checks
  • Facebook
  • Local Community
  • Youth Program
  • Volunteer Recruitment
  • Spiritual Growth
  • Church Services
  • PowerPoint
  • Worship Services
  • Leadership Development

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Browse community and social services jobs