College chaplain vs senior pastor

The differences between college chaplains and senior 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 college chaplain and a senior pastor. Additionally, a senior pastor has an average salary of $45,556, which is higher than the $36,110 average annual salary of a college chaplain.

College chaplain vs senior pastor overview

	College Chaplain	Senior Pastor
Yearly salary	$36,110	$45,556
Hourly rate	$17.36	$21.90
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	3,337	466
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	4	4

College chaplain vs senior pastor salary

College chaplains and senior pastors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	College Chaplain	Senior Pastor
Average salary	$36,110	$45,556
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $52,000	Between $29,000 And $71,000
Highest paying City	-	San Diego, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Bethel Church
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between college chaplain and senior pastor education

There are a few differences between a college chaplain and a senior pastor in terms of educational background:

	College Chaplain	Senior Pastor
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Theology	Theology
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Emory University

College chaplain vs senior pastor demographics

Here are the differences between college chaplains' and senior pastors' demographics:

	College Chaplain	Senior Pastor
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 70.0% Female, 30.0%	Male, 92.2% Female, 7.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 6.9% Asian, 5.3% White, 74.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 6.6% White, 68.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between college chaplain and senior pastor duties and responsibilities

College chaplain example responsibilities.

Develop, provide oversight and lead all ministries for middle school and high school students and their parents.
Counsele inmates struggling with a variety of problems including: psychological issues, addiction recovery, abuse recovery, and rehabilitation.
Develop all graphics and designs for sermon PowerPoint presentations and ministry events.

Senior pastor example responsibilities.

Manage and provide oversight for the administration of all ministry areas within the organization.
Emphasize Christ-centered teaching, fervent prayer, multilevel family Christian education programs, evangelism and mission outreaches.
Encourage servant evangelism and outreach through numerous community service projects i.e.
Major responsibilities include purchasing or developing curriculum, group leadership, volunteer recruitment and training.
Major responsibilities include purchasing or developing curriculum, group leadership, volunteer recruitment and training.

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College Chaplain
College Chaplain vs Senior Pastor

Updated January 8, 2025

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