Best Master's Degrees in Pastoral Ministry

Some colleges offer what's called a 'four plus one' degree in pastoral ministry, which is a four-year bachelor of arts (BA) in pastoral ministry plus a one-year master's degree in the same. If you're not enrolled in a four plus one program, a bachelor's degree in religious studies, theology, ministry, or another related field can be very useful if you're planning on getting your master's in pastoral ministry.

However, many people who come from various fields of study and work may feel called to ministry and enroll in a pastoral ministry graduate program. Because ministry has a lot to do with a sense of spiritual calling or vocation, graduate programs and seminaries accept applicants with accredited bachelor's degrees in any major, with the understanding that the call to ministry isn't always foreseeable.

In order to begin a master's degree in pastoral ministry, you'll have to hold at least a bachelor's degree. Again, your degree doesn't have to be in a ministry-related field, it just has to be from an accredited institution. An undergraduate GPA of at least 2.5 is required for most graduate schools.

You'll also need to submit letters of recommendation. Many pastoral ministry programs ask that one or more of these letters come from a spiritual director such as a priest or pastor, while the other letter(s) may be written by a professor, mentor, or other supervisor.

If you're applying for a ministry program, you should already be somewhat involved in ministry as a layperson; and it's likely that you've already spoken to your spiritual director about your decision to apply. Thus, when it comes time to ask for your letters of recommendation, your priest or pastor should be prepared to write them and have plenty of good things to say about your history of service.

Another unique requirement for admission to a pastoral ministry program is Bible knowledge. Depending on the school you're applying to, you may have to demonstrate your knowledge of the Bible by taking an exam, which your program will specify.

You may also need to submit GRE scores, though this requirement varies from one program to the next.

Graduate students in pastoral ministry may choose from an array of options when it comes to school and denomination. There are dozens of Catholic seminaries and universities, while there are only six theological seminaries within the Southern Baptist Convention, which points out that the number and location of seminaries within your denomination largely depends on which one you're a part of. Catholic and mainline churches tend to have more programs in more locations, whereas evangelical and Orthodox churches are more limited in scope. This means that your options for a program in pastoral ministry will be quickly narrowed by your confession of faith.

However, you may still have a lot of options to choose from. The best method of finding the right program for you is to visit schools and speak with advisors and faculty. Because mentorship and servant leadership are so crucial to pastoral ministry as both a vocation and a field of study, you want to be able to develop strong relationships with your professors.

You also want to make sure that the program is conducive to your own spiritual formation, so you should probably choose one that allows you to participate in a local church, stay close to your family, and be active in ministry.

Accreditation of ministry programs is a little different than secular accreditation. In order to be recognized by other institutions (including other educational institutions, employers, churches, etc.) programs must be regionally accredited. There are seven regional accrediting agencies and your program should be approved by one of them.

Additionally, pastoral ministry programs should be accredited by a faith-related agency such as the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), or the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS).

If you belong to a particular denomination and/or intend to be hired at a church of a particular denomination, you may also want to check that your school is recognized by that denomination. For example, if you want to minister in the Catholic church, make sure that your school is approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). If you want to serve in the Southern Baptist church, your school should be approved by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), and so on for the many other denominations.

Know that your master's degree coursework will vary greatly depending on the program you choose. For example, some denominations (such as Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican/Episcopal) may have a greater focus on the Christian sacraments and Christian history, therefore placing a heavier emphasis on these subjects in the core program. Other denominations (such as Baptist, Pentecostal, and other Evangelical denominations) may have a strong focus on evangelism, biblical hermeneutics and exposition, systematic theology, and apologetics.

Although much of the coursework will be similar from one program to the next, your course of study will be strongly flavored by the various strains of Christianity present at the various seminaries and universities offering pastoral ministry degrees.

Pastoral Ministry Foundational Courses

Regardless of your denomination, the coursework in a pastoral ministry degree will almost always require the same foundational classes. These include courses on

• the Old and New Testaments
• biblical hermeneutics or interpretation
• morality or ethics
• church history or ecclesiology

Some programs also include Christology (the study of Jesus Christ) as part of their core coursework. You may also take classes in Greek and Hebrew (the original languages of the Bible), as well as systematic theology and spiritual formation.

Again, every denomination places different emphasis on different subject areas. You may spend many credit hours studying preaching and leadership at one school, while at another school you'd spend that time studying Christian worldview and Greek syntax.

Typically, the MDiv has more rigorous foundational requirements, while the MA is a bit gentler.

Pastoral Ministry Specialist & Elective Courses

Your elective courses will mostly be in accord with the concentration you choose as part of your degree. If your school only offers general pastoral ministry degrees, you may have more elective options. Also, your degree program may have a small group of core classes and large pool of electives; or vice versa. If the former, it's possible that some of the courses listed above as foundational courses may be considered electives at your school.

Some elective courses you might see in your course catalog include:

• discipleship
• counseling
• catechetics
• contemporary ministry (or contemporary parish)
• pastoral preaching
• preaching apologetics
• church worship
• Christian ethics
• healthcare ethics
• special topics
• directed readings
• missiology
• Christian leadership

There may also be advanced classes on topics that you surveyed in your foundational courses--for example, you may have the option to take an elective course on ancient or medieval Christian history or on Vatican II, whereas before you only had an introductory class on Christian history as a whole.

Licensure & Certification in Pastoral Ministry

State Licensure

If you wish to become a licensed minister for legal purposes, you'll have to follow your state's regulations. You must have a license to officiate marriage ceremonies, and you'll also need a license to perform funerals and to minister via hospital and jail visits.

State regulations may not specify what type of license you need to perform these duties; rather, they may simply state that a person wishing to legally officiate a wedding must be licensed. You can obtain licensure online from a number of organizations; just use your search engine to discover the legal online minister ordination process in your state.

You can get a generic ministry license, a youth ministry license, or a pastoral ministry license online with very little effort. You will have to renew your license every one to five years unless you get a lifetime license.

Church Ordination and Licensure

If you're reading this article, you're probably more interested in church ordination than in a speedy licensure for an upcoming wedding. You can become legally ordained without going to seminary to get your graduate degree, but it's unlikely that you'll be ordained by the church without that formal education.

To be ordained by a church, you must meet denominational standards of education (usually a master's degree), experience, and other training. The church's bylaws must allow for the ordination of ministers; if they do, a board or committee will examine the candidate's credentials and ordain, license, and/or commission that candidate for ministry, including but not limited to legal ceremonies.

You may have to take an exam; make a declaration of faith or sign that of your denomination; and perhaps even serve a specified amount of time under supervision. You'll need lots of patience, since you may have to contact not just your local church but the regional, state, and even national offices of your denomination to be approved by the leaders of the church (such as bishops, archbishops, etc.). Once you're approved, you may have a formal ceremony or special church service celebrating your ordination to ministry. Ordination lasts a lifetime in most churches.

Ordination in the Catholic Church

If you're seeking to become a priest in the Catholic church, you may be ordained to the diaconate for a transitional period of six months to a year, during which it's okay to change your mind about the priesthood. If you do continue on to the priesthood, you will be a priest forever--like other churches, your ordination is lasting.

It's possible that your pastoral ministry degree is itself a concentration under a master's in ministry. If not, whether you're studying for an MA or an MDiv, you may be able to choose a concentration. Popular concentrations include youth ministry, pastoral counseling, church management, scripture, healthcare ministry, Hispanic ministry, among others.

With a youth ministry concentration, for example, you'll take an extra class on church ministry, complete a youth ministry internship, and finish with a capstone course on youth ministry. In fact, with almost any concentration, you'll complete an internship and a capstone in that specific field.

If you haven't chosen a concentration or if your school doesn't offer one, you can create your own by selecting classes on a common theme. For example, you might choose electives like pastoral preaching, preaching apologetics, and doctrinal preaching to develop a preaching specialization. If pastoral ministry is your concentration, your electives will be predetermined--and this tends to go for the MA as well as the MDiv.

It may be helpful for you to know that since the MDiv is more intense than the MA, the MDiv may leave you with less room and fewer options for electives if you're trying to create your own specialization. Notwithstanding, even some MA programs are quite dense and quick, so you'll finish in a short amount of time with only 30 to 36 credit hours, but you'll have no room for electives. Programs that require more credit hours (usually between 42 and 48) tend to allow for more electives.

After you complete a master's degree in pastoral ministry, whether it be an MA or MDiv, you can continue on to doctoral studies. You have several options:

• Doctor of Divinity (DDiv): this can be an honorary or an academic degree and is the highest in Christian ministry. It's designed to enhance your ministry as well as your scholarship, whether you serve as a church pastor, parachurch leader, or in another vocation. With it, you will be qualified to teach at a university or seminary, and it also opens up positions of greater responsibility and leadership in the church.
  
  
• Doctor of Ministry (DMin) or Doctor of Pastoral Ministry (DPMin): this degree is designed for practical application in your vocational work. While the DDiv is more academic--involving scholarly examination of the scriptures in their original languages, theological study, and so on--the DMin focuses on church leadership, preaching, family ministry, and multicultural ministry. You can think of it as a hands-on degree, especially as it often involves a large-scale final project rather than a dissertation.
  
  
• Doctor of Philosophy in Ministry (PhD): there are similar PhD programs in ministry under various titles, e.g. PhD in Pastoral Theology. This is a rare degree for ministers; most scholars go with a DDiv and most ministers go with a DMin. The PhD is really not for people who want to engage in practical ministry, but rather serve in administrative or teaching capacities at seminaries and universities, or perhaps work in counseling settings.

Of course, most people who earn master's degrees in pastoral ministry go on to become pastors or priests. There are many kinds of pastors, including teaching, discipleship, family, youth, and children's pastors. Worship pastors have a specific focus on church music, and outreach pastors have a specific focus on missions. Some of these may also be or become senior or executive pastors as well as associate pastors, whose roles function like they sound.

Others may use their pastoral ministry degree to become marriage and family counselors, Christian educators, missionaries, chaplains, or parachurch leaders (consider prison ministries, pregnancy clinics, and homeless ministries).

Job Outlook for a Master's in Pastoral Ministry

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 4% job growth for clergy, a percentage that takes into account all categories of clerical work (including denomination, hierarchical position, etc.). Clerical positions fall under 'occupations not covered in detail' at the BLS website, but it is at least encouraging to know that the job outlook for clergy is as fast as the national average.

Pastors are also generally paid slightly more than the national average salary. According to BLS, a member of the clergy brings home a median annual wage of $51,940. Overall, people with a Master of Divinity in Pastoral Ministry make an average salary of $52,920 per year. Payscale gives a little more detail:

Job Category	Job Title	Average Annual Salary
Pastors and Priests	Pastor	$50,126
	Senior Pastor	$61,521
	Associate Pastor	$49,008
	Youth Pastor	$38,908
	Worship Pastor	$45,264
	Priest	$43,916
Church Administration	Children's Ministry Director	$35,290
	Music Ministry Director	$38,038
Education	Educator (Primary, Secondary)	$51,370
	Assistant Professor (Postsecondary)	$69,498
	Associate Professor (Postsecondary)	$78,056
	Instructor (Postsecondary)	$50,040
Chaplaincy	Hospital Chaplain	$52,771
	Chaplain, general (military, healthcare, or other)	$51,149

How to Become a Senior Pastor

Step One

If you feel called to become a senior pastor, your first step is to earn a bachelor's degree. Although seminaries accept applicants with bachelor's degrees in almost any subject, you should heavily consider majoring in ministry, management, religious studies, or a related field.

If you're not already active in a local church, it's time to start getting involved. That doesn't mean just attending--make sure to take positions of responsibility and leadership. The concept of servant leadership is highly emphasized in religious communities, so keep that in mind as you sign up for the prayer team, volunteer in the children's ministry, sing in the choir, play your instrument in the church band, go on hospital and nursing home visits, and serve on mission trips.

Step Two

Now it's time to go to seminary (or university) for your MA or MDiv in pastoral ministry. The MDiv is the more respected of the two among most Christian church communities, though choosing the MA won't necessarily bar you from your desired position.

Remember to continue being active in church attendance and service. Make yourself available for all types of service opportunities. While your master's degree will almost certainly include an internship and/or service component, it may also be worthwhile for you to approach your church elders and pastors and let them know you'd like to serve in a special capacity.

Some churches have residencies for people who feel called to ministry.. During your residency, you may study under a pastor, serve in a unique role in the church, and even be allowed to preach once in a while. A good church will be gracious and bear with your flaws as you're getting the hang of delivering sermons, conducting worship services, etc.

Step Three

Once you complete your master's degree, you're ready to look for open positions for an associate pastor. You may find a position at the church at which you were already serving during your time in graduate school, or you may find a position elsewhere. Either way, it's likely that you'll be ordained at your home church before another church hires you. You should spend plenty of time in spiritual reflection as you prepare for ordination.

If you're leaving your home church for new territory, take the time to get to know people at the churches who extend offers of employment. Most churches will allow you to visit and preach a sermon during a trial service so that the congregation can get a sense of your style and determine whether you meet their spiritual needs; you should use that time to prayerfully consider whether that church is a good fit for you as well. Keep in mind that you're not just getting a job; you're taking the role of a true leader, with a real responsibility to shape the religious life of a group of people.

Step Four

As an associate pastor, you'll prepare and preach sermons; write material for Sunday school lessons; lead discipleship groups (such as men's, women's, or youth groups); visit sick church members; conduct worship services, baptisms, weddings, and funerals; and assist the senior pastor in his duties.

Having done all these things with integrity and care for many years, you may be promoted within your church or apply elsewhere to become a senior pastor. As a senior pastor, you'll still do many of the tasks that an associate pastor does, like preaching, counseling, officiating weddings, etc, but you'll now be able to pass off some of these responsibilities to your associate pastor, because your new responsibility is to direct the church with vision and purpose.

You'll set goals for church growth, missions, donations, topics of scripture study, etc. And, as a senior pastor, you'll have the pleasure of training younger, inexperienced pastors.

Step Five

One step that wasn't mentioned: getting your doctorate. Depending on the size of the church, you can become a senior pastor with a master's degree. However, an optional but wise step is to earn a doctoral degree, such as a DMin, in order to better serve your faith community and demonstrate to churches that you're eminently qualified to be their senior pastor.

How to Become a Military Chaplain

Step One

Let's say you want to become an Army chaplain. First, you'll have to complete the requirements to be ordained by your denomination. As per the U.S. Army website, you must be ordained by your church or faith community in order to become a chaplain.

So, you'll need a bachelor's degree in a subject of your choice and a master's degree in pastoral ministry (or other religious studies, but pastoral ministry is a good choice). That can be an MDiv or MA--it's up to you, but the MDiv is recommended.

The Army specifically requires a bachelor's degree of no less than 120 credit hours and a graduate degree in theological or religious studies of no less than 72 credit hours. For that number of credit hours, the MDiv is your best option.

Step Two

After your requisite theological education, you will need two years of professional experience as an ordained minister. You may serve as an associate pastor at a church, for example, or serve in another ministerial capacity. You should also have two years of professional service as a member of your faith community, and you must present a church-approved, official endorsement of your experience in order to become a chaplain.

Step Three

Next, you'll need to contact an Army recruiter in your area. He or she will help you determine your next steps, which will include obtaining security clearance (which means you'll need a clean record). You should also prepare for the physical exam that you'll take at a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS).

Note: You must be between 21 and 42 years old to serve as an Army chaplain. Also, the church denomination under which you are ordained must approve of your military service. Finally, you must be able to accept religious pluralism, ministering to people of other denominations and other faiths during your time of service in the Army.

There are many opportunities to win scholarship awards if you're a prospective student of pastoral ministry. Churches and community programs sponsor future ministers from their own communities and across the nation, which can add on to state and federal financial aid. Together, government and organizational scholarships can help you graduate with less debt--in some cases, with no debt at all.

Your initial step is to fill out the Federal Application for Student Aid, or FAFSA. Completing the FAFSA allows the government to assess your financial needs and your eligibility for scholarships, grants, subsidized and unsubsidized student loans, and work study opportunities.

Universities to which you apply will be able to access this information, connect you to financial resources, and recommend you for scholarships and even graduate assistantships or fellowships. The latter two are usually reserved for academically distinguished students, and they serve the dual purpose of reducing your financial burden and giving you invaluable experience.

You may be able to find church scholarships by searching within your denomination. Here are a few examples:

• Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Scholarships: These scholarships, awarded to students at SBTS, are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. They include:
  • Kentucky Baptist Convention Scholarship (for students who attended undergrad at an SBC-affiliated school in Kentucky);
  • Hoover Scholarship for students from New England;
  • Women's Auxiliary Scholarship for women with a Christian vocation;
  • F-1 International Student Scholarship for master's level international students with an F-1 visa;
  • Rice-Judson scholarship, awarded on a competitive basis; and
  • General Scholarship, which is need-based.

Likewise, the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church has an impressive list of scholarships for ministry students, many of which are based on merit, church membership, race/ethnicity, and other factors.

There are thousands of denominations out there, and while they can't all be listed here, you can find myriad scholarship opportunities just by exploring what your church and seminary have to offer.