Pastor vs children's minister

The differences between pastors and children's ministers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a pastor and a children's minister. Additionally, a children's minister has an average salary of $45,421, which is higher than the $44,787 average annual salary of a pastor.

The top three skills for a pastor include community outreach, overseer and bible study. The most important skills for a children's minister are outreach events, bible studies, and VBS.

Pastor vs children's minister overview

	Pastor	Children's Minister
Yearly salary	$44,787	$45,421
Hourly rate	$21.53	$21.84
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	494	8,614
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	4	4

Pastor vs children's minister salary

Pastors and children's ministers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Pastor	Children's Minister
Average salary	$44,787	$45,421
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $64,000	Between $25,000 And $79,000
Highest paying City	Worcester, MA	-
Highest paying state	Hawaii	-
Best paying company	Bethel Church	-
Best paying industry	Education	-

Differences between pastor and children's minister education

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

	Pastor	Children's Minister
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Theology	Theology
Most common college	Emory University	University of Pennsylvania

Pastor vs children's minister demographics

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

	Pastor	Children's Minister
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 87.1% Female, 12.9%	Male, 36.5% Female, 63.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 6.6% White, 68.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between pastor and children's minister duties and responsibilities

Pastor example responsibilities.

Manage and provide oversight for the administration of all ministry areas within the organization.
Provide formal and informal leadership training and forums for frequent communication, encouragement and evaluation.
Coordinate visitation program, VBS, and youth programs.
Develop children's ministry including writing of curriculum for Sunday school and VBS.
Begin to birth new Sunday school groups, and new bible study small groups.
Provide hand-outs, and employ PowerPoint slides to illustrate concepts and provide visual referencing of all teaching content.

Children's minister example responsibilities.

Lead church to incorporate a vision for integrating evangelistic and discipleship efforts.
Revamp 5th & 6th grade VBS to be more age appropriate in a large group concept.
Plan and give oversight of all children's activities.
Perform other various functions as needed including communication with church leadership to ensure efficient operations for church outreach activities.
Develop deacons in fulfilling their respective leadership obligations.

Pastor vs children's minister skills

Common pastor skills

Community Outreach, 22%
Overseer, 7%
Bible Study, 7%
Public Speaking, 6%
GOD, 6%
Youth Ministry, 5%

Common children's minister skills

Outreach Events, 18%
Bible Studies, 14%
VBS, 12%
Children Birth, 8%
Oversight, 5%
Children Ages, 5%