Deacon vs senior pastor

The differences between deacons 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 deacon and a senior pastor. Additionally, a deacon has an average salary of $49,574, which is higher than the $45,556 average annual salary of a senior pastor.

The top three skills for a deacon include pastoral care, community outreach and bible study. The most important skills for a senior pastor are community outreach, pastoral care, and overseer.

Deacon vs senior pastor overview

	Deacon	Senior Pastor
Yearly salary	$49,574	$45,556
Hourly rate	$23.83	$21.90
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	117	466
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	4	4

Deacon vs senior pastor salary

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

	Deacon	Senior Pastor
Average salary	$49,574	$45,556
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $92,000	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 deacon and senior pastor education

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

	Deacon	Senior Pastor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Theology	Theology
Most common college	Emory University	Emory University

Deacon vs senior pastor demographics

Here are the differences between deacons' and senior pastors' demographics:

	Deacon	Senior Pastor
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 79.7% Female, 20.3%	Male, 92.2% Female, 7.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 6.7% White, 68.0% 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 deacon and senior pastor duties and responsibilities

Deacon example responsibilities.

Lead Jr and Sr high youth ministries.
Coordinate serving and prayer schedules.
Develop and participate in leadership workshops for new leaders and assist new leaders in assuming leadership responsibilities.
Develop deacons in fulfilling their respective leadership obligations.

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.

Deacon vs senior pastor skills

Common deacon skills

Pastoral Care, 46%
Community Outreach, 26%
Bible Study, 8%
Prayer, 8%
Oversight, 7%
Leadership Meetings, 5%

Common senior pastor skills

Community Outreach, 22%
Pastoral Care, 11%
Overseer, 8%
Bible Study, 6%
GOD, 5%
Funeral Services, 4%