How To Become An Associate Pastor: What It Is and Career Path

What is an associate pastor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Josh Parnell

A full-time or part-time employee who assists the pastor is known as an associate pastor. Your primary responsibility is to assist the pastor in the running of the church. You are expected to oversee designated ministries, assigned tasks, and manage and plan events for church ministries, including community service projects and Sunday school. Other duties include counseling church members, supervising church volunteers, and assisting with church ceremonies like weddings, baptisms, and funerals.

To ensure the church is financially stable, you are to collaborate with the senior pastor and church board of directors to strategically plan and set goals. You are the assistant to the pastor; therefore, you are to deliver the sermon and fill in other duties in his/her absence. Other duties include attending inter-church programs, leading and coordinating mission trips. The ultimate responsibility is to preach and spread the word of God. A good public speaker, a youth development lover, a passion for community outreach, and confidence are all essential skills for an associate pastor.

The average salary of an associate pastor is $38,000 annually. The educational qualification is to possess a college degree or a bachelor's degree in Theology, Pastoral Counselling or, other related fields.

What general advice would you give to an Associate Pastor?

Josh Parnell

Adjunct Professor, Crowley's Ridge College

Public speaking skills have always been important in the religious field, and there is no sign that will change in the next 3-5 years. Conflict management is a skill that I believe will become more important and prevalent in the next 3-5 years as religious organizations, much like the society around them, become increasingly polarized.

ScoreAssociate PastorUS Average

Salary

3.6

Avg. Salary $46,081

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.44%

Asian 6.69%

Black or African American 11.93%

Hispanic or Latino 9.11%

Unknown 4.01%

White 67.83%

Gender

female 12.35%

male 87.65%

Age - 52

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 52

Stress Level

8.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

10.0

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.3

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become an associate pastor

Explore associate pastor education requirements

Most common associate pastor degrees

Bachelor's

55.0 %

Master's

29.2 %

Associate

6.5 %

Start to develop specific associate pastor skills

Skills	Percentages
Community Outreach	20.15%
Pastoral Care	11.68%
Oversight	8.86%
Youth Ministry	4.85%
Youth Program	4.08%

Complete relevant associate pastor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New associate pastors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an associate pastor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real associate pastor resumes.

Research associate pastor duties and responsibilities

Manage and provide oversight for the administration of all ministry areas within the organization.
Deliver messages base on the bible.
Assist children's outreach including VBS and AWANA.
Produce services through media development, PowerPoint, sound system, and print materials.

Prepare your associate pastor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your associate pastor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an associate pastor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Associate Pastor Resume templates

Build a professional Associate Pastor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Associate Pastor resume.

Apply for associate pastor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an associate pastor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do associate pastors rate their job?

-/5

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Associate Pastor reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2021

Pros

Educating unbelievers, Soul winning and people communicating directly to God through Jesus Christ

Cons

Castigation, arguement and condemnation