10 Most Affordable Online Ministry Degree Bachelor Programs

Key Infor­ma­tion:

• Athens State Uni­ver­si­ty and Bap­tist Col­lege of Flori­da are two top schools for an afford­able online bach­e­lor’s in min­istry.
• Cours­es cov­er the­ol­o­gy, pas­toral care, bib­li­cal stud­ies, and church man­age­ment to pre­pare stu­dents for var­i­ous min­istry roles.
• Many insti­tu­tions offer low tuition rates and finan­cial aid options.

Min­is­ters don’t make a for­tune. Out­side of a hand­ful of mul­ti-mil­lion­aire megachurch pas­tors, the vast major­i­ty of min­is­ters make a hum­ble, hon­est liv­ing — and, all things con­sid­ered (from prepar­ing ser­mons to vis­it­ing sick church mem­bers to orga­niz­ing church busi­ness), many pas­tors prob­a­bly wouldn’t be mak­ing min­i­mum wage if they were paid by the hour. They do the job for faith, for ser­vice to human­i­ty, for the glo­ry of God. But they still have their expens­es, and get­ting a col­lege edu­ca­tion to build their skills and career is a big one.

The last thing work­ing pas­tors and min­is­ters need is to sad­dle them­selves with a large stu­dent loan debt so they can do their job and ful­fill their call­ing. That’s why Bachelor’s Degree Cen­ter has ranked the Most Afford­able Online Min­istry Degree Bach­e­lor Pro­grams. Online min­is­te­r­i­al degrees allow work­ing pas­tors to com­plete their bachelor’s degrees, or even earn a degree in full, with­out hav­ing to leave their flocks to go back to school. With the most afford­able accred­it­ed online bible col­lege degrees, they can do that with­out wor­ry­ing about their finan­cial futures either.

Methodology: How We Ranked the Most Affordable Online Ministerial Degrees

Bachelor’s Degree Cen­ter fea­tures only rep­utable, accred­it­ed online pro­grams, whether they are small bible col­leges, large pub­lic uni­ver­si­ties, or any­thing in between. How­ev­er, for the Most Afford­able rank­ing, only one fac­tor mat­ters: tuition rate. Pro­grams fea­tured in the Most Afford­able Online Min­istry Degree rank­ing are ordered by tuition costs from low­est to high­est, accord­ing to cur­rent IPEDS data.

1. Athens State University

When you’re look­ing for afford­able online min­is­te­r­i­al degrees, you may con­sid­er the Bach­e­lor in Reli­gion from Athens State Uni­ver­si­ty. The online degree offers flex­i­bil­i­ty to stu­dents who may face chal­lenges with their respon­si­bil­i­ties and still want to fin­ish up a degree pro­gram. It allows stu­dents to focus on their goals and make a dif­fer­ence when they fin­ish up their degrees.

Athens State Uni­ver­si­ty stands apart for its long his­to­ry as a school with a reli­gion pro­gram. The degree pro­gram start­ed in 1938 and con­tin­ues to teach stu­dents about reli­gion and min­istry. While the degree pro­gram has a long his­to­ry, the school also rec­og­nizes that mod­ern stu­dents may have lim­i­ta­tions on their sched­ules. The online pro­gram allows stu­dents to earn the same degree with­out attend­ing tra­di­tion­al class­es. It gives stu­dents the flex­i­bil­i­ty to accom­plish their goals.

Degree: BA in Reli­gion
Cost: $$$$$

Athens State University

2. Baptist College of Florida

When you want to find accred­it­ed online Bible col­lege degrees, then Bap­tist Col­lege of Flori­da offers a pro­gram to help with your goals. You can obtain a Bach­e­lor of Art in Bib­li­cal Stud­ies, Min­istry, or Min­istry Stud­ies through their online pro­gram. The degree pro­grams focus on spe­cif­ic areas of reli­gious study based on the goals of stu­dents. The Min­istry focus­es on prepar­ing stu­dents for pas­toral min­istry or grad­u­ate stud­ies. The Min­istry Stud­ies pro­gram pre­pares stu­dents for a role in min­istry with­in a church or relat­ed orga­ni­za­tion. The Bib­li­cal Stud­ies pro­gram focus­es on hermeneu­ti­cal skills when inter­pret­ing the Bible or Bib­li­cal literature.

Bap­tist Col­lege of Flori­da stands apart for offer­ing dif­fer­ent min­istry degrees based on the goals of the stu­dent. The online degree pro­grams allow stu­dents to learn spe­cif­ic skills based on their goals for a career. That flex­i­bil­i­ty helps stu­dents deter­mine if they want to pur­sue a high­er lev­el of edu­ca­tion, or they want to start work­ing as a pas­tor or under the guid­ance of a pas­tor to make a dif­fer­ence in their local communities.

Degree: Min­istry, or Min­istry Stud­ies
Cost: $$$$$

Bap­tist Col­lege of Florida

3. Clear Creek Baptist Bible College

Clear Creek Bap­tist Bible Col­lege offers an online BA in Min­istry to pre­pare stu­dents for their long-term goals. The degree pro­gram rec­og­nizes that stu­dents will need to take on a lead­er­ship posi­tion and focus­es on prepar­ing stu­dents for their role as reli­gious leader as well as their study into the Bible and Bib­li­cal pas­sages. It teach­es stu­dents to under­stand the pas­sages in the Bible while also prepar­ing for the chal­lenges of work­ing with mem­bers of a min­istry. The degree pro­gram helps stu­dents under­stand the process of coun­sel­ing oth­ers and pro­vid­ing assis­tance based on the con­cerns of those in their church.

A key way Clear Creek Bap­tist Bible Col­lege dif­fers from oth­er pro­grams and col­leges is their focus on coun­sel­ing and lead­er­ship in their min­istry pro­gram. The school rec­og­nizes that lead­ers in a church must be com­pe­tent lead­ers who pro­vide guid­ance based on the Bible. By teach­ing stu­dents effec­tive lead­er­ship skills and focus­ing on build­ing a strong foun­da­tion, it helps stu­dents work on their long-term goals and pro­vide help to those in their church.

Degree: BA in Min­istry
Cost: $$$$$

Clear Creek Bap­tist Bible College

4. Eastern New Mexico University

When you want to focus on online min­is­te­r­i­al degrees, you may con­sid­er East­ern New Mex­i­co Uni­ver­si­ty. The Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence or Bach­e­lor of Art in Reli­gion is an afford­able online pro­gram that allows stu­dents to learn the prac­ti­cal appli­ca­tion of reli­gious texts and the his­to­ry behind reli­gion. It also pro­vides a foun­da­tion in reli­gious phi­los­o­phy and psy­chol­o­gy that gives stu­dents a clear idea of how to coun­sel oth­ers when they work in a church or take on a role in ministry.

East­ern New Mex­i­co Uni­ver­si­ty offers stu­dents schol­ar­ships and grants to help with the cost of the degree. The school also offers unique oppor­tu­ni­ties for stu­dents in reli­gious stud­ies to work with reli­gious affil­i­a­tions to gain lead­er­ship skills and expe­ri­ence work­ing in their field. The school helps stu­dents con­nect to appro­pri­ate reli­gious groups based on their per­son­al beliefs and their plans for their careers.

Degree: BS or BA in Reli­gion
Cost: $$$$$

East­ern New Mex­i­co University

5. American Public University

A BA in Reli­gion from Amer­i­can Pub­lic Uni­ver­si­ty takes a mul­ti­dis­ci­pli­nary approach to reli­gious study and gives stu­dents mul­ti­ple per­spec­tives on spe­cif­ic areas of study with­in reli­gion. It teach­es stu­dents to par­tic­i­pate in the dis­cus­sion and crit­i­cize aspects of reli­gion that may arise due to dif­fer­ences in beliefs. It rec­og­nizes that dif­fer­ent per­spec­tives shape the way stu­dents under­stand and view reli­gion, so the online degree pro­gram helps stu­dents learn from others.

Amer­i­can Pub­lic Uni­ver­si­ty is an accred­it­ed online degree pro­gram through the High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion. That means stu­dents have access to grants and fed­er­al aid to assist with the cost of the online degree pro­gram. Although the online pro­gram is an afford­able option, the extra assis­tance via grants and schol­ar­ships helps stu­dents stay on track to accom­plish their goals when obtain­ing a degree.

Degree: BA in Reli­gion
Cost: $$$$$

Amer­i­can Pub­lic University

6. Holy Apostles College & Seminary

When you’re look­ing into accred­it­ed online Bible col­lege degrees, the BA in The­ol­o­gy from Holy Apos­tles Col­lege & Sem­i­nary is a good choice for your goals. The online degree pro­gram offers flex­i­bil­i­ty to help with your long-term goals. It also ensures that you have the­o­log­i­cal research and writ­ing skills to han­dle dif­fer­ent careers with­in the­ol­o­gy. You will learn about scrip­ture and moral­i­ty, as well as the chal­lenges of lead­er­ship with­in religion.

A key way the Holy Apos­tles Col­lege & Sem­i­nary stands out from oth­er pro­grams is their flex­i­bil­i­ty. Stu­dents can com­plete an under­grad­u­ate degree in 2.6 years by using online tools. That allows you to move for­ward with your career or take on a high­er lev­el of edu­ca­tion when you are younger. The fast-paced envi­ron­ment also helps with afford­abil­i­ty and stu­dents have options for on-cam­pus class­es if they want to take more tra­di­tion­al cours­es for their degree program.

Degree: BA in The­ol­o­gy
Online $$$$$

Holy Apos­tles Col­lege & Seminary

7. Florida International University

Flori­da Inter­na­tion­al Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BA in Reli­gious Stud­ies that gives stu­dents a well-round­ed view of reli­gion and dif­fer­ent types of reli­gions from around the world. Before stu­dents move into more advanced stud­ies, they take a class on world reli­gions. That means they have a strong foun­da­tion in reli­gion from dif­fer­ent cul­tures to help them decide on their path through the remain­ing cours­es. Stu­dents can then study spe­cial­ized cours­es based on dif­fer­ent regions of the world and types of religions.

The way Flori­da Inter­na­tion­al Uni­ver­si­ty stands out for its reli­gious stud­ies degree pro­gram is the focus on dif­fer­ent types of reli­gions. It does not lim­it stu­dents to the Abra­ham­ic reli­gions, which means stu­dents can learn about Asian reli­gions, indige­nous reli­gions, or the role of cul­ture, soci­ety and ethics on reli­gion. That focus on spe­cial­ized study gives stu­dents an oppor­tu­ni­ty to take on unique roles with­in a min­istry or to advance into more the­o­log­i­cal stud­ies and philosophy.

Degree: BA in Reli­gious Stud­ies
Cost: $$$$$

Flori­da Inter­na­tion­al University

8. Arizona State University

Ari­zona State Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BA in Reli­gious Stud­ies that focus­es on reli­gion, cul­ture, and pub­lic life. That focus on the way reli­gion shapes cul­ture and the lives of indi­vid­u­als in dif­fer­ent com­mu­ni­ties pre­pares stu­dents to han­dle the chal­lenges of work­ing with­in diverse com­mu­ni­ties and com­mu­ni­cat­ing with oth­ers from dif­fer­ent back­grounds. The degree pro­gram stud­ies the way reli­gion impacts dai­ly life to ensure that stu­dents are able to think crit­i­cal­ly about dif­fer­ent sit­u­a­tions and ana­lyze infor­ma­tion based on the con­text of the situation.

Ari­zona State Uni­ver­si­ty dif­fers from oth­er min­istry pro­grams by tak­ing a glob­al approach to the top­ic. It exam­ines reli­gion from the per­spec­tive of dai­ly life and cul­ture, which teach­es stu­dents to under­stand how to com­mu­ni­cate and inter­act with oth­ers on a glob­al scale. The degree pre­pares stu­dents to work in a vari­ety of careers and set­tings by giv­ing them a clear under­stand­ing of diverse com­mu­ni­ties and groups.

Degree: BA in Reli­gious Stud­ies
Cost: $$$$$

Ari­zona State University

9. Central Baptist College

The BA in Lead­er­ship and Min­istry from Cen­tral Bap­tist Col­lege pro­vides stu­dents with a firm grasp of Chris­t­ian beliefs and the Bible. The degree pro­gram pre­pares stu­dents for their role in a church or min­istry, as well as the chal­lenges of work­ing in a lead­er­ship posi­tion. Stu­dents learn Chris­t­ian Doc­trine and how to inter­pret the Bible, as well as the prac­ti­cal skills they need to teach as a min­is­ter or pas­tor. It pro­vides the foun­da­tion­al skills stu­dents need to start work­ing in the church.

A key aspect that sets Cen­tral Bap­tist Col­lege apart for their online degree pro­gram is the focus on lead­er­ship as it applies to the church. The degree pro­gram offers sev­er­al lead­er­ship class­es based on the needs of a church as well as the role of a leader with­in a church. It also pro­vides a strong foun­da­tion in Chris­t­ian beliefs, val­ues, and stud­ies to ensure that stu­dents are pre­pared for their role as a leader with­in the church. Stu­dents will know how to teach, coun­sel, and lead a church when they fin­ish their degree.

Degree: BA in Lead­er­ship and Min­istry
Cost: $$$$$

Cen­tral Bap­tist College

10. Grace Christian University

Grace Chris­t­ian Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Lead­er­ship and Min­istry. This degree pre­pares stu­dents for prac­ti­cal skills they need to work in min­istry. It focus­es on Bib­li­cal study as it applies to a stu­den­t’s per­son­al life and spir­i­tu­al­i­ty. Also, it gives the oppor­tu­ni­ty to serve as the role of a leader when guid­ing oth­ers on their spir­i­tu­al jour­ney. The pro­gram rec­og­nizes that lead­ers in a church need real-world skills as well as research skills to reach out and help oth­ers. The online degree pro­gram focus­es on help­ing stu­dents pre­pare for their careers with a lead­er­ship position.

The way Grace Chris­t­ian Uni­ver­si­ty dif­fers from oth­er pro­grams is the focus on chal­leng­ing stu­dents to devel­op their research skills and build up their knowl­edge. It focus­es on teach­ing stu­dents to under­stand their own spir­i­tu­al­i­ty as part of tak­ing on a lead­er­ship role in the church. By hav­ing a strong foun­da­tion in prac­ti­cal skills as it applies to their own life, stu­dents are able to assist oth­ers and pro­vide the guid­ance their church needs to han­dle real-world challenges.

Degree: BS in Lead­er­ship and Min­istry
Cost: $$$$$

Grace Chris­t­ian University

FAQs: Can I Get a Degree in Ministry for Free?

There are many peo­ple inter­est­ed in free online min­istry degrees. But actu­al­ly get­ting an online min­istry degree free can be tricky. Find­ing accred­it­ed tuition-free Bible col­leges and sem­i­nar­ies will be dif­fi­cult, no mat­ter where you are. How­ev­er, find­ing a free online the­ol­o­gy course with a cer­tifi­cate is not that hard. This is a good alter­na­tive for those who want to get a free Bible col­lege degree. There are quite a few free Bible degree cor­re­spon­dence course options on the Inter­net. Also, stu­dents look­ing for free online min­istry degrees should instead look at the cheap­est online Chris­t­ian colleges. 

A 100% online min­istry degree free may not be pos­si­ble. How­ev­er, the cheap­est online Chris­t­ian col­leges will help you save mon­ey while still get­ting your degree. It will also be hard to find free accred­it­ed online sem­i­nary degrees. A stu­dent that wants to go to a sem­i­nary free online can get a pas­toral certificate.

Get­ting an online min­istry degree free may not be pos­si­ble, but stu­dents may be able to use finan­cial aid to cov­er the costs. This tac­tic could essen­tial­ly make your school a tuition-free Bible col­lege and sem­i­nary, even if they do charge tuition. Instead of hav­ing to set­tle for a free online the­ol­o­gy course with a cer­tifi­cate, stu­dents could effec­tive­ly get a free Bible col­lege degree, or at least not pay any­thing at the time. Even if you just want to take one free Bible degree cor­re­spon­dence course, you can use finan­cial aid to do so. The types of finan­cial aid that may offer you the oppor­tu­ni­ty to get free accred­it­ed online sem­i­nary degrees include schol­ar­ships, grants, and even stu­dent loans. The finan­cial aid could also be used to get a free online pas­toral certificate.

Does a Degree in Ministry Pay Well?

Stu­dents inter­est­ed in get­ting a min­istry degree often won­der what a minister’s salary is like. The most accu­rate answer is that a church minister’s salary can vary wide­ly, with a small church salary being sig­nif­i­cant­ly less than a pastor’s salary megachurch. Prospec­tive min­is­ters, that want to know how to deter­mine pas­tor salary will find it chal­leng­ing espe­cial­ly when try­ing to answer the ques­tion ‘How much do small church pas­tors make?’ The bot­tom line is that reli­gious jobs that pay well can be a chal­lenge to obtain. Answer­ing anoth­er impor­tant ques­tion ‘How do min­is­ters get paid’ shows why this is.

As pre­vi­ous­ly men­tioned, a small church pastor’s salary and a pastor’s salary megachurch are quite dif­fer­ent. A minister’s salary at a big church can be in the six fig­ures. Alter­na­tive­ly, small church pas­tors might make just enough to pay the bills. Church­es set­ting a church minister’s salary face the always dif­fi­cult ques­tion of how to deter­mine pas­tor salary.

Of course, church­es know that cler­gy mem­bers are famil­iar with just how do min­is­ters get paid. In con­clu­sion, there are reli­gious jobs that pay well, but they gen­er­al­ly go to high­ly expe­ri­enced pas­tors. Full-time pas­tors with a mas­ter of divin­i­ty (MDiv) or anoth­er master’s degree make more than those who pas­tor part-time or online went to high school or a the­o­log­i­cal seminary.

There are a lot of fac­tors that go into becom­ing a min­is­ter, start­ing with ordi­na­tion. An ordained pas­tor in good stand­ing is qual­i­fied for bap­tisms, bible stud­ies, and oth­er pas­toral care in Chris­t­ian church­es. A local church can ordain a pas­tor, but high­er edu­ca­tion is required for an ordained min­is­ter, espe­cial­ly for denom­i­na­tions like the Methodist Church.

How Much Does a Youth Pastor Make?

Prospec­tive min­is­ters that want to go into youth min­istry are under­stand­ably inter­est­ed in the aver­age youth min­is­ter’s salary. The short answer is $43,617, which is the approx­i­mate aver­age youth pas­tor salary for a medi­um-sized church. The ques­tion ‘How much do youth pas­tors make?’ is a lit­tle more com­pli­cat­ed, how­ev­er. Data is hard to come by, as most church­es do not release this info.

The aver­age youth pas­tor’s salary varies, large­ly depend­ing on the size of the church. A youth min­is­ter’s salary is also gen­er­al­ly sig­nif­i­cant­ly less than a head pas­tor’s salary. It looks like the inquiry ‘How much do youth pas­tors make?’ can only be answered with an esti­mate, not an exact figure.

Relat­ed Rank­ings:
25 Best Bach­e­lor’s in Min­istry Degree Pro­grams
15 Best Online Min­istry Degree Bach­e­lor’s Pro­grams
10 Fastest Online Min­istry Degree Bach­e­lor’s Programs