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Youth pastor vs youth minister

The differences between youth pastors and youth 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 youth pastor and a youth minister. Additionally, a youth minister has an average salary of $41,513, which is higher than the $39,712 average annual salary of a youth pastor.

The top three skills for a youth pastor include outreach events, disciple and youth program. The most important skills for a youth minister are community outreach, bible studies, and youth events.

Youth pastor vs youth minister overview

Youth PastorYouth Minister
Yearly salary$39,712$41,513
Hourly rate$19.09$19.96
Growth rate--
Number of jobs3,1202,830
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age5151
Years of experience44

What does a youth pastor do?

A Youth Pastor is focused on offering spiritual guidance. They also ensure that the youth ministry is functioning in an effective and focused manner.

What does a youth minister do?

A Youth Minister encourages young people to learn more about a given faith and to become more involved in spiritual life. They may be responsible for planning activities and leading Bible studies.

Youth pastor vs youth minister salary

Youth pastors and youth ministers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Youth PastorYouth Minister
Average salary$39,712$41,513
Salary rangeBetween $31,000 And $50,000Between $31,000 And $54,000
Highest paying CityVancouver, WA-
Highest paying stateMaine-
Best paying companyFirst Presbyterian Church-
Best paying industryEducation-

Differences between youth pastor and youth minister education

There are a few differences between a youth pastor and a youth minister in terms of educational background:

Youth PastorYouth Minister
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorTheologyTheology
Most common collegeBoston UniversityEmory University

Youth pastor vs youth minister demographics

Here are the differences between youth pastors' and youth ministers' demographics:

Youth PastorYouth Minister
Average age5151
Gender ratioMale, 87.7% Female, 12.3%Male, 71.6% Female, 28.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 6.6% White, 68.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%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%
LGBT Percentage16%16%

Differences between youth pastor and youth minister duties and responsibilities

Youth pastor example responsibilities.

  • Develop, provide oversight and lead all ministries for middle school and high school students and their parents.
  • Plan monthly activities, summer camp, teen VBS, and other schedule events.
  • Offer help with additional CRBC events and services (funerals, VBS, etc.
  • Create PowerPoint presentations for community and area businesses at community meetings.
  • Develop all graphics and designs for sermon PowerPoint presentations and ministry events.
  • Maintain regular office hours with primary responsibility being given to leadership within the congregation.
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Youth minister example responsibilities.

  • Lead church to incorporate a vision for integrating evangelistic and discipleship efforts.
  • Prepare presentations for youth group members by using PowerPoint.
  • Maintain Facebook page and website dedicate to the youth group through updating information weekly on upcoming news and event information.
  • Provide mentoring to student leaders through direct discipleship.
  • Collaborate with pastoral team to provide professional leadership to a variety of congregation's ministry areas.
  • Perform other various functions as needed including communication with church leadership to ensure efficient operations for church outreach activities.
  • Show more

Youth pastor vs youth minister skills

Common youth pastor skills
  • Outreach Events, 20%
  • Disciple, 12%
  • Youth Program, 11%
  • Bible Study, 6%
  • Oversight, 4%
  • Public Speaking, 4%
Common youth minister skills
  • Community Outreach, 19%
  • Bible Studies, 13%
  • Youth Events, 5%
  • Public Speaking, 5%
  • Event Planning, 5%
  • Worship Services, 4%

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