What Kind of Job can I even get as a Pastor?

What kind of job can I even get as a pastor?

Dear Community Member,

This is the most common question I get when I first share with pastors what I do and I have found 4 different career paths for pastors that want to make a change.

1. Non-Profits. This is pretty obvious but non-profits are ran by people who want to make a positive difference in the world, just like you do as a pastor. Many pastors just like you make this switch, no problem, especially given many non-profits are ran by Christians. Did you know there is a job search site exclusively for non-profit jobs? That's right. Check out Idealist.org.

2. Project Management / Project Coordination. Being a Pastor is an awful lot like being a Project Manager. You wear multiple hats, you have stakeholders, budgets, timelines, etc. If you're someone who likes to influence a team to achieve a goal, considering earning a PMP - the gold standard for Project Managers. (I have mine).

3. Learning and Development. If you can open the Word of God and proclaim eternal truths to an audience in 2023, giving a workshop on feedback or motivation is a piece of cake. Learning and Development is a growing department in many organizations and they are always looking for trainers, coaches, coordinators, and facilitators to develop their staff. Here's a helpful article on how to break in.

4. Sales. I know "Sales" is a bit of a dirty word for a pastor but we're selling all the time. Let me be super honest with you, I know a pastor who broke in SaaS sales who is now making 12k+ a month.. and he's only a few months into the job! To me, this is a huge opportunity for pastors who want to make a change and if you are ready to jump, follow our friends over at SaaS Bros.

If any of these jobs stick out to you, my advice would be start networking. Find people who work in these industries and ask them for 15 minutes of their time. The more you learn about these roles, the better you position yourself to transition into a new job.