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Priest skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted experts
Rev. Elliott Anderson,
Leah Thomas Ph.D.
Priest example skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical priest skills. We ranked the top skills for priests based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 27.8% of priest resumes contained pastoral care as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a priest needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 priest skills for your resume and career

1. Pastoral Care

Here's how priests use pastoral care:
  • Travel to the homes of the church members of all congregations to provide in-home Pastoral care and counseling.
  • Provide pastoral care and visitation, preach and celebrate at religious services for Sunday and life cycle events.

2. Spiritual Care

Spiritual care is a facet of healthcare that deals with the spiritual and religious needs caused by an injury or illness.

Here's how priests use spiritual care:
  • Provided spiritual care for patients, families and staff; including the overseeing of spiritual services for assigned clinical units.
  • Provide pastoral and spiritual care to both Catholics and Non-Catholics.

3. Educational Programs

An educational program is a program primarily concerned with the provision of education, including but not limited to early childhood education, primary and secondary education, post-secondary education, special education, vocational training, career and technical education, education for adults, and any program managed by an educational agency or institution.

Here's how priests use educational programs:
  • Designed, organized, and directed religious educational programs in the context of fulfilling pastoral, pedagogical, and administrative ministries.
  • Initiated a counseling/educational program for juveniles in conjunction with Department of Social Work - Court Designated Workers.

4. Financial Statements

A financial statement is a report of an individual or a company that includes all the information about the declared assets, the use of money, income, and also the contribution of shareholders over a certain period.

Here's how priests use financial statements:
  • Developed reports for financial statements.

5. CPE

CPE is a supervised interfaith professional education for ministry imparted by a small group of experiential personnel. It is not a professional certification, rather it helps prepare for chaplaincy. It aims at providing a knowledge base and developing skills, for pastoral ministry. One can explore gifts and motivations for ministry during their education at CPE.

Here's how priests use cpe:
  • Completed additional CPE units at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke Medical Center to meet national standard for certification.
  • Studied and is still studying CPE at Johns Hopkings to help me become more efficient in my visitation of parishioners.

6. Spiritual Support

Here's how priests use spiritual support:
  • Provided spiritual support and guidance to hospital staff as requested.
  • Provided emotional and spiritual support to parishioners undergoing a personal crisis or personal emergency.

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7. Prayer

Here's how priests use prayer:
  • Organized retreats for married couples and Prayer Breakfasts for the unit soldiers.
  • Established a community-wide ministerial fellowship focused on strategic prayer for our cities and racial reconciliation.

8. Catholic Church

Here's how priests use catholic church:
  • Ordained to the Priesthood in God's Holy Catholic Church and in the Anglican Church of North America.
  • Administered the Sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church.

9. Social Justice

Here's how priests use social justice:
  • Strengthened social justice ministry grant program.
  • Service and Social Justice Organized daily service programs and service opportunities for students throughout the academic school year.

10. GOD

Here's how priests use god:
  • Teach Sunday school for adults to enrich and cultivate the mind to understand God's purpose in life through the Bible.
  • Mentored and counseled members to help them develop their abilities to share God's message of hope and grace with others.

11. 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 priests use oversight:
  • Maintained donations for local food pantry giving oversight of inventory in accordance with Federal regulations of National Food Bank standards.
  • Managed and provided oversight for the administration of all ministry areas within the organization.

12. Worship Services

Worship is the coming together of Christians; it includes different services provided by church practicing Christians. It involves believers coming together to worship God and learn more from the bible. Contemporary worship services include music services like playing 'holy music' such as Christian rock and hip-hop and prayers to God, led by a pastor. Although worship services are Jewish in origin, Christians practice them more often (usually on Sundays). They acknowledge services in the church as a good practice and believe God has a reward for them in this world and in heaven.

Here's how priests use worship services:
  • Provide liturgical and free worship services including sacraments, Eucharist and Baptism.
  • Prepared liturgy, organized preachers for Wednesday evening worship services.

13. Bishops

Here's how priests use bishops:
  • Master of Ceremonies for Archbishop McCarrick and auxiliary Bishops for confirmation and other ceremonies.

14. Diocese

Here's how priests use diocese:
  • Assist the Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese in the exercise of his Official duties/Offices.
  • License to Officiate, Diocese of Mississippi, Supply Clergy, Nov. 2008-Feb. 2010

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 priests use public speaking:
  • Provide pastoral leadership involving public speaking, administration of sacramental and liturgical life, spiritual counseling, and education.
  • Developed strong verbal communication, public speaking and leadership.
top-skills

What skills help Priests find jobs?

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

What priest 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.

What soft skills should all priests 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.
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about priest

List of priest skills to add to your resume

Priest skills

The most important skills for a priest resume and required skills for a priest to have include:

  • Pastoral Care
  • Spiritual Care
  • Educational Programs
  • Financial Statements
  • CPE
  • Spiritual Support
  • Prayer
  • Catholic Church
  • Social Justice
  • GOD
  • Oversight
  • Worship Services
  • Bishops
  • Diocese
  • Public Speaking
  • Windows
  • Crisis Intervention
  • Spiritual Guidance
  • REV
  • Local Community
  • PowerPoint
  • Church Services
  • Capital Campaign
  • Religious Education

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.

Updated January 8, 2025

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