CCollegeMatcher

Directors, Religious Activities and Education

US occupation · SOC 21-2021

Job titles people report: Adult Ministries Director, Campus Ministries Director, Children's Ministries Director, Christian Education Director, Religious Education Coordinator, Religious Education Director, Senior Adults Director, Women's Ministries Director, Youth Ministries Director, Youth Pastor

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$52,100
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$44,010 – $73,730
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
22,160
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
+3.3%
Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)
Openings a year (projected)
13,000
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
Bachelor's degree
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Coordinate or design programs and conduct outreach to promote the religious education or activities of a denominational group. May provide counseling, guidance, and leadership relative to marital, health, financial, and religious problems.

Main tasks

  • Develop or direct study courses or religious education programs within congregations.
  • Identify and recruit potential volunteer workers.
  • Select appropriate curricula or class structures for educational programs.
  • Schedule special events, such as camps, conferences, meetings, seminars, or retreats.
  • Counsel individuals regarding interpersonal, health, financial, or religious problems.
  • Collaborate with other ministry members to establish goals and objectives for religious education programs or to develop ways to encourage program participation.
  • Train and supervise religious education instructional staff.
  • Implement program plans by ordering needed materials, scheduling speakers, reserving space, or handling other administrative details.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
Bachelor's degree
Work experience in a related job: less than 5 years
O*NET Job Zone 4
Considerable preparation
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Social: helping, teaching and caring for people
  • Enterprising: leading, persuading and making business decisions
  • Artistic: creating, designing and self-expression

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 16 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Health & Nursing

  • Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient Counseling
  • Bioethics/Medical Ethics

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Health & Nursing at the Major step.

Where many students take health & nursing

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Other fields

Our college matcher doesn't offer these fields as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for them here.

Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies

  • Contemplative Studies/Inquiry
  • Thanatology

Theology and Religious Vocations

  • Bible/Biblical Studies
  • Missions/Missionary Studies
  • Religious Education
  • Worship Ministry
  • Religious Music and Worship, Other
  • Pastoral Studies/Counseling
  • Youth Ministry
  • Urban Ministry
4 more programmes
  • Women's Ministry
  • Lay Ministry
  • Chaplain/Chaplaincy Studies
  • Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries, Other

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk