15 Best Online Ministry Degree Bachelor’s Programs

Many pas­tors and min­is­ters begin their careers with noth­ing but a call to min­istry and the sup­port of their fam­i­ly and church. In most Amer­i­can Protes­tant church­es and denom­i­na­tions a for­mal high­er edu­ca­tion isn’t required for ordi­na­tion or to lead a church. Lay lead­ers have been a sta­ple of Amer­i­can Chris­tian­i­ty for gen­er­a­tions. But many pas­tors and min­is­ters (includ­ing youth min­is­ters, music min­is­ters, and oth­er spe­cial­ties) find, as they con­tin­ue their career, that a high­er degree and train­ing can make them more effec­tive lead­ers, help them earn recog­ni­tion from their denom­i­na­tions, and make a high­er income.

For work­ing pro­fes­sion­als in pas­toral min­istry and oth­er kinds of faith-based careers, an online bachelor’s or bachelor’s com­ple­tion pro­gram can help them earn the cre­den­tials they need with­out sac­ri­fic­ing their career and their con­gre­ga­tion. Get­ting a min­istry degree online can be con­ve­nient, afford­able, and just as com­pre­hen­sive and in-depth as a tra­di­tion­al degree, par­tic­u­lar­ly if you’ve fin­ished an asso­ci­ate’s degree already. For work­ing adults search­ing for bib­li­cal stud­ies or min­istry degrees online, Bachelor’s Degree Cen­ter has ranked the 15 Best Online Min­istry Degree Bachelor’s Programs.

Methodology: How We Ranked the Best Ministry Degree Online Programs

Like oth­er BDC rank­ings, edi­tors began by research­ing accred­it­ed min­istry, reli­gion, and bible degree online pro­grams in the US. This process includ­ed schools with region­al accred­i­ta­tion and accred­i­ta­tion by the Asso­ci­a­tion for Bib­li­cal High­er Edu­ca­tion. From our ini­tial list, all schools were ranked accord­ing to five equal­ly-weight­ed cri­te­ria: Cost, Rep­u­ta­tion, Grad­u­a­tion Rate, Employ­ment Rate, and Alum­ni Salary. Data was tak­en from Col­lege Score­card, IPEDS, and Niche.

With these para­me­ters, read­ers can trust that BDC has ranked pro­grams that will have a real return on invest­ment, pro­vid­ing oppor­tu­ni­ty to grow in lead­er­ship and faith while enhanc­ing a career with meaning.

1. Arizona State University

Ari­zona State Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BA in Reli­gious Stud­ies with a con­cen­tra­tion in Reli­gion, Cul­ture & Pub­lic Life that can be com­plet­ed entire­ly online. ASU’s Min­istry degree online pro­gram requires the com­ple­tion of 120 cred­it units across a total of 40 class­es. Stu­dents must com­plete a min­i­mum of 30 cred­it hours at ASU. Stu­dents grad­u­ate from ASU’s Reli­gious Stud­ies ready for a career in edu­ca­tion, diplo­ma­cy, edu­ca­tion, reli­gious ser­vice agen­cies, and non­prof­its, among others.

Ari­zona State Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1885. ASU oper­ates with sev­er­al cam­pus­es across the Phoenix area and across the state. Ari­zona State Uni­ver­si­ty is rec­og­nized as one of the largest insti­tu­tions of high­er learn­ing in the coun­try, in terms of stu­dent enroll­ment. The stu­dent pop­u­la­tion at Ari­zona State Uni­ver­si­ty exceeds 80,000 stu­dents study­ing on cam­pus and online. US News rec­og­nizes ASU among the top 61 pub­lic nation­al uni­ver­si­ties and the #1 School for innovation.

Degree: BA in Reli­gious Studies

Ari­zona State University 

2. University of Central Florida

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Cen­tral Florida’s BA in Reli­gion & Cul­tur­al Stud­ies that has been rec­og­nized by Forbes, The Prince­ton Review and Kiplinger as one of the country’s best val­ue insti­tu­tions of high­er edu­ca­tion. Course­work explores the world’s diverse reli­gious tra­di­tions — their sim­i­lar­i­ties and their dif­fer­ences. UCF’s bible degree online is avail­able with reduced fees for new stu­dents who wish to earn their Reli­gion & Cul­tur­al Stud­ies degree exclu­sive­ly online.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Cen­tral Flori­da was estab­lished in 1963 with a fun­da­men­tal mis­sion to sup­port the country’s space pro­gram. As such, the school is a space-grant uni­ver­si­ty as it is locat­ed near Florida’s Space Coast and the Kennedy Space Cen­ter. UCF offers is orga­nized under thir­teen col­leges that offer more than 200-degree pro­grams. UCF’s 1,400+-acre cam­pus is only fif­teen min­utes from down­town Orlan­do and the world’s mag­i­cal theme parks at Dis­ney World, Epcot Cen­ter and Universal.

Degree: BA in Reli­gion and Cul­tur­al Studies

Uni­ver­si­ty of Cen­tral Florida

3. LeTourneau University

LeTourneau University’s School of The­ol­o­gy & Voca­tion offers three under­grad­u­ate reli­gious stud­ies degrees — the BS in Chris­t­ian Min­istry, Bib­li­cal Stud­ies & Min­istry, or The­o­log­i­cal Stud­ies. Degree can­di­dates learn to become capa­ble Bible stu­dents, and when they grad­u­ate, they are pre­pared to become skilled, devot­ed bible teach­ers. Course­work includes Evan­ge­lism & Dis­ci­ple­ship, the His­to­ry of Chris­t­ian Thought, and Teach­ing the Min­istry, among oth­ers. Stu­dents are required to com­plete 122 cred­it units to graduate.

LeTourneau Uni­ver­si­ty is a pri­vate insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing that was estab­lished in 1946 as a school that helped World War II vet­er­ans re-inte­grat­ing into civil­ian life. LETU is affil­i­at­ed with the Chris­t­ian Church on an inter-denom­i­na­tion­al basis. LETU oper­ates a main cam­pus in Longview and satel­lite cam­pus­es in Hous­ton and Dal­las. LETU’s offers the first of its kind degree pro­gram — the Remote­ly Pilot­ed Air­craft program.

Degree: BS in Chris­t­ian Min­istry, The­o­log­i­cal Stud­ies, or Bib­li­cal Stud­ies and Ministry

LeTourneau Uni­ver­si­ty

4. Florida International University

Flori­da Inter­na­tion­al University’s BA in Reli­gious Stud­ies degree pro­gram can be com­plet­ed exclu­sive­ly online. FIU’s min­istry degree online requires the com­ple­tion of 36 cred­it units with­in the student’s major. Course­work includes Reli­gious of the Caribbean, Reli­gions of Clas­si­cal Mythol­o­gy, Tibetan Bud­dhism, and World Chris­tian­i­ty, among many oth­ers. Com­ing from the Depart­ment of Reli­gious Stud­ies in the School of Inter­na­tion­al & Pub­lic Affairs, FIU’s pro­gram is focused on reli­gion as a cul­tur­al and social phenomenon.

Flori­da Inter­na­tion­al Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1965 and is a mem­ber school of the State Uni­ver­si­ty Sys­tem of Flori­da. FIU holds the dis­tinc­tion of being the largest insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion in South Flori­da and the 2nd Largest in the state of Flori­da. US News rec­og­nizes Flori­da Inter­na­tion­al Uni­ver­si­ty among the best buy schools in the coun­try. Addi­tion­al­ly, FIU is list­ed among the top six­teen uni­ver­si­ties with the most chal­leng­ing grad­ing sys­tem in the country.

Degree: BA in Reli­gious Studies

Flori­da Inter­na­tion­al University

5. Southwestern College

South­west­ern College’s BA in Chris­t­ian Min­istries, offered by the School of Pro­fes­sion­al Stud­ies, can be fin­ished entire­ly online. Stu­dents grad­u­at­ing from Southwestern’s bible degree online pro­gram are pre­pared to enter the work­force as a Teacher, a Min­is­ter or Chap­lain, a Youth Min­istries Direc­tor, or a Church Admin­is­tra­tor, among oth­ers. South­west­ern College’s min­istry degree online pro­gram empha­sizes the areas of the youth min­istry and pas­toral stud­ies. Degree grad­u­ates are required to com­plete 30 cred­it units through class­es offered by South­west­ern College.

South­west­ern Col­lege is a pri­vate insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing affil­i­at­ed with the Unit­ed Methodist Church. The school was estab­lished in 1885 first in Tope­ka, KS as the South­west Kansas Con­fer­ence Col­lege. The High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion and the Unit­ed Methodist Church’s uni­ver­si­ty sen­ate both accred­it South­west­ern Col­lege. South­west­ern Col­lege issues each stu­dent a lap­top com­put­er when enter­ing his or her degree program.

Degree: BA in Chris­t­ian Ministries

South­west­ern College

6. Andrews University

Andrews Uni­ver­si­ty offers an online BA in Reli­gion from the School of Dis­tance Edu­ca­tion & Inter­na­tion­al Part­ner­ships. Andrews University’s flex­i­ble and con­ve­nient min­istry degree online pro­gram is deliv­ered as a self-paced, flex­i­ble pro­gram with an all-year rolling admis­sions sched­ule. Stu­dents study­ing for the reli­gious stud­ies degree at Andrews Uni­ver­si­ty must com­plete a total of 124 cred­it units to grad­u­ate. The school will con­sid­er trans­fer cred­its on a case-by-case basis.

Andrews Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1874 as the Bat­tle Creek Col­lege. The school holds the dis­tinc­tion of being the first aca­d­e­m­ic insti­tu­tion that was found­ed by the Sev­enth-day Adven­tists. The school’s 1,600-acre rur­al cam­pus is home to more than 3,300 stu­dents, of which 850 stu­dents are sem­i­nary can­di­dates. The Asso­ci­a­tion of The­o­log­i­cal Schools in the Unit­ed States & Cana­da accred­its Andrews University’s The­o­log­i­cal Seminary.

Degree: BA in Religion

Andrews Uni­ver­si­ty

7. Dallas Baptist University

Dal­las Bap­tist Uni­ver­si­ty offers sev­er­al reli­gious stud­ies bac­calau­re­ate degrees through their Col­lege of Chris­t­ian Faith’s dis­tance learn­ing divi­sion — a BA in Bib­li­cal Stud­ies, a BS in Chris­t­ian Stud­ies or a Bach­e­lor of Arts & Sci­ences in Chris­t­ian Min­istries. DBU has been rec­og­nized by among the top one hun­dred online insti­tu­tions of high­er edu­ca­tion in the nation. Each of the min­istry degree online pro­grams require the com­ple­tion of 120 cred­it units to graduate.

Dal­las Bap­tist Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1898 as a Chris­t­ian lib­er­al arts insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing enti­tled Decatur Bap­tist Col­lege. The school’s 350+-acre cam­pus is home to near­ly 4,800 stu­dents and is locat­ed about ten miles from down­town Dal­las. DBU is orga­nized among sev­en schools/colleges, with two branch cam­pus­es in Plano and Hurst. US News rec­og­nizes Dal­las Bap­tist Uni­ver­si­ty among the top two hun­dred nation­al universities.

Degree: BA in Bib­li­cal Stud­ies, BS in Chris­t­ian Stud­ies, BAS in Chris­t­ian Ministries

Dal­las Bap­tist University

8. King University

King University’s BA in Reli­gious Stud­ies degree pro­gram can be com­plet­ed exclu­sive­ly online. The school’s min­istry degree online pro­gram read­ies stu­dents to attend a the­o­log­i­cal sem­i­nary or a reli­gious stud­ies’ grad­u­ate degree pro­gram. Degree hold­ers also find reward­ing careers in edu­ca­tion, the social sci­ences, law, and busi­ness. Stu­dents are required to earn 124 cred­it units and pass a com­pre­hen­sive final exam to graduate.

King Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1867 as King Col­lege. The school is simul­ta­ne­ous­ly affil­i­at­ed with the Evan­gel­i­cal Pres­by­ter­ian Church and the Pres­by­ter­ian Church of the Unit­ed States. The school’s 100+ wood­ed-acre main cam­pus is home to near­ly 3,000 stu­dents; how­ev­er, there are addi­tion­al cam­pus­es in Knoxville and Kingsport. High­light — Each year, incom­ing fresh­man stu­dents trav­el to the nation’s cap­i­tal for an expe­ri­en­tial vis­it with gov­ern­ment leg­is­la­tors and to attend events at art gal­leries, muse­ums, and oth­er venues.

Degree: BA in Reli­gious Studies

King Uni­ver­si­ty

9. Johnson University

John­son University’s School of Con­gre­ga­tion­al Min­istry offers a vari­ety of bachelor’s degree pro­grams in reli­gious stud­ies that are avail­able entire­ly online. John­son University’s bible degree online pro­grams focus on Pas­toral Care & Coun­sel­ing, Church Lead­er­ship, and Min­istry Lead­er­ship, among oth­ers. Course­work for this bachelor’s degree in reli­gious stud­ies includes a basic core cur­ricu­lum and a bib­li­cal core cur­ricu­lum. The Com­mis­sion on Accred­i­ta­tion of the Asso­ci­a­tion for Bib­li­cal High­er Edu­ca­tion accred­its the pro­grams offered by John­son University’s School of Con­gre­ga­tion­al Min­istry and the School of Bible & Theology.

John­son Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1893 as a pri­vate Chris­t­ian insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion enti­tled the School of the Evan­ge­lists. The school oper­ates with two branch cam­pus­es and a large dis­tant edu­ca­tion cam­pus online known as the Extend­ED Adult cam­pus. The Ten­nessee cam­pus is sit­u­at­ed along­side the French Broad Riv­er, and the Flori­da cam­pus is locat­ed just miles south of Orlan­do in Kissim­mee, FL.

Degree: Numer­ous min­istry degrees

John­son University

10. Belmont University

Bel­mont University’s BA in Min­istry degree pro­gram can be com­plet­ed online through the Adult Degree Pro­gram divi­sion. Degree hold­ers find reward­ing careers in the areas of social ser­vice, edu­ca­tion, reli­gious orga­ni­za­tions, and med­i­cine. Belmont’s bac­calau­re­ate min­istry degree online pro­gram requires the com­ple­tion of 128 cred­it hours, of which 32 cred­it units must be com­plet­ed at Bel­mont Uni­ver­si­ty. Stu­dents can opt to focus on an area of empha­sis. These areas include Under­stand­ing Church His­to­ry, Pas­toral Care, Wor­ship & Preach­ing, Ser­vant Lead­er­ship, and Edu­ca­tion in the Church, among others.

Bel­mont Uni­ver­si­ty is a pri­vate insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion that was estab­lished in 1890. The school oper­ates as a non­de­nom­i­na­tion­al uni­ver­si­ty with a Chris­t­ian iden­ti­ty. Bel­mont Uni­ver­si­ty is orga­nized into nine schools/colleges offer­ing approx­i­mate­ly 91 majors on the school’s urban cam­pus in Nashville. Bel­mont Uni­ver­si­ty holds the dis­tinc­tion of broad­cast­ing Nashville’s first radio sta­tion in 1922. Bel­mont host­ed a pres­i­den­tial town-hall-style debate in 2008.

Degree: BA in Ministry

Bel­mont University

11. Brescia University

Bres­cia University’s BA in The­ol­o­gy degree pro­gram fea­tures a strong empha­sis on Pas­toral Stud­ies. This min­istry degree online has been rec­og­nized as a best val­ue school. Bres­cia University’s accel­er­at­ed for­mat allows for qual­i­fied stu­dents to fin­ish their 128-cred­it unit require­ment in about 2 years or so. Stu­dents grad­u­ate pre­pared for a career as a Dea­con, a Teacher, a Direc­tor of Reli­gious Edu­ca­tion, a Youth Min­is­ter, or a Pas­toral Min­is­ter, among oth­ers. Class­es include the New & Old Tes­ta­ment, The devel­op­ment of Doc­trine, the Catholic Faith, and Faith & Jus­tice, among others.

Bres­cia Uni­ver­si­ty was orig­i­nal­ly estab­lished in 1925 as a women’s junior col­lege. The school is affil­i­at­ed with the Catholic Church through the Ursu­line Sis­ters of Mount Saint Joseph. Bres­cia University’s rur­al cam­pus is home to near­ly 1,300 stu­dents study­ing both under­grad­u­ate and grad­u­ate degree pro­grams. The school derives its name from a city in Italy — Bres­cia — the home city of where Saint Meri­ci estab­lished the first order.

Degree: BA in The­ol­o­gy — Pas­toral Studies

Bres­cia University

12. North Greenville University

North Greenville University’s online Bach­e­lor in Chris­t­ian Min­istry degree pro­gram offers stu­dents four aca­d­e­m­ic tracks/concentrations — Min­istry, Youth Min­istry, The­ol­o­gy and Bib­li­cal Stud­ies. Stu­dents grad­u­ate pre­pared to bet­ter artic­u­late the word of Chris­t­ian Faith while apply­ing the­o­log­i­cal con­cepts to every­day real-world sit­u­a­tions. NGU’s min­istry degree online pro­gram explores the many facets and spheres of the min­istry, like — Mis­sions, the Youth Min­istry, Bib­li­cal Stud­ies, the Pas­toral Min­istry, and the Non-Voca­tion Ministry.

North Greenville Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1891. North Greenville Uni­ver­si­ty is affil­i­at­ed with the South­ern Bap­tist Con­ven­tion and the South Car­oli­na Bap­tist Con­ven­tion. NGU has received accred­i­ta­tion from the South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges & Schools to offer degree pro­grams at the bac­calau­re­ate, mas­ter’s, and doc­tor­al lev­els. When North Greenville Uni­ver­si­ty first opened, it was the first high school in the north­ern part of Greenville County.

Degree: Bach­e­lor in Chris­t­ian Ministry

North Greenville University

13. Moody Bible Institute

Moody Bible Institute’s Dis­tance Learn­ing Depart­ment offers an online BS degree pro­gram in Bib­li­cal Stud­ies, The­o­log­i­cal Stud­ies, or Min­istry Lead­er­ship. Moody Bible Institute’s dis­tance learn­ing plat­form offers stu­dents and work­ing learn­ers the con­ve­nience and flex­i­bil­i­ty for those pressed for time. Degree can­di­dates explore the ways to apply the inter­pre­ta­tion of the Bible’s text and prin­ci­ples to mod­ern-day issues.

Dwight Lyman Moody, a busi­ness­man, and evan­ge­list estab­lished the Moody Bible Insti­tute in 1886. MBI is also involved with min­istry media orga­ni­za­tions ded­i­cat­ed to Chris­t­ian val­ues — Moody Pub­lish­ers & Moody Radio. Cur­rent­ly, the school oper­ates more than 30 sta­tions with com­mer­cial-free pro­gram­ming. The Moody Bible Institute’s pri­ma­ry pur­pose to train stu­dents for careers in the min­istry as well as para-reli­gious organizations.

Degree: BS in Bib­li­cal Stud­ies, Min­istry Lead­er­ship, The­o­log­i­cal Studies

Moody Bible Institute

14. Calvary University

Cal­vary Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Bible & The­ol­o­gy, Min­istry Stud­ies, or Pas­toral Min­istry. Each min­istry degree online pro­gram requires the com­plete 126 cred­it units to grad­u­ate. These cred­it units can be earned through Cal­vary University’s dis­tance learn­ing plat­form. Cal­vary University’s grad­u­ate Min­istry & Pas­toral Lead­er­ship pro­grams have been wide­ly rec­og­nized among the nation’s best. Cal­vary Uni­ver­si­ty is on a mis­sion to ready Chris­tians to serve the world and the church.

Cal­vary Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1932 as the Cal­vary Bible Col­lege; how­ev­er, the school cur­rent­ly oper­ates as a non-denom­i­na­tion­al insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing. Cal­vary University’s Lib­er­ty Chapel holds dai­ly ser­vices as dou­bles as the school’s main audi­to­ri­um. The school’s sub­ur­ban cam­pus in Kansas City, MO is home to near­ly 500 stu­dents study­ing for under­grad­u­ate and grad­u­ate degrees. Cal­vary Uni­ver­si­ty has received accred­i­ta­tion from the Asso­ci­a­tion for Bib­li­cal High­er Edu­ca­tion (since 1974) and The High­er Learn­ing Commission.

Degree: Bible and The­ol­o­gy, Min­istry Stud­ies, Pas­toral Ministry

Cal­vary University

15. Lee University

Lee Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BA in Min­istry Lead­er­ship degree pro­gram that is avail­able online. Stu­dents have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to select an area of con­cen­tra­tion from the fol­low­ing: Dis­ci­ple­ship, Youth Min­istry, Pas­toral Min­istry, Music & Wor­ship, Busi­ness, Church Admin­is­tra­tion, Coun­sel­ing, and Children’s Min­istry. Stu­dents study­ing for Lee University’s min­istry degree online pro­gram are gen­er­al­ly adult learn­ers reach­ing for an oppor­tu­ni­ty of lead­er­ship in any num­ber of Chris­t­ian min­istry locations.

Lee Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1918 and is affil­i­at­ed with the Pen­te­costal Church of God. Lee Uni­ver­si­ty accepts stu­dents of all reli­gions. The school’s 125+-acre cam­pus is home to near­ly 5,400 stu­dents study­ing for degrees offered by six schools/colleges. US News rec­og­nizes Lee Uni­ver­si­ty among the country’s top-tier insti­tu­tions of high­er learn­ing. The school has been con­sid­ered a best buy school for more than thir­teen con­sec­u­tive years.

Degree: BA in Min­istry Lead­er­ship (mul­ti­ple concentrations)

Lee Uni­ver­si­ty

Will an Online Degree in Ministry Be Taken Seriously?

With the explo­sion of avail­able online edu­ca­tion options, employ­ers rec­og­nize that cut­ting-edge tech­nol­o­gy deliv­ers qual­i­ty online expe­ri­ence edu­ca­tion pro­grams equiv­a­lent to many on-cam­pus pro­grams. There are many online the­ol­o­gy degree Catholic, Protes­tant, and Evan­gel­i­cal pro­grams through­out the US that pro­vide a vari­ety of qual­i­ty, flex­i­ble and con­ve­nient dis­tance-learn­ing options. Find­ing the right accred­it­ed online bible col­lege degrees sim­ply requires some ded­i­cat­ed research.

Stu­dents who are inter­est­ed in earn­ing their Min­istry degree online should care­ful­ly research the pro­gram of inter­est, and the school offer­ing the min­is­te­r­i­al degree. After all, the online the­ol­o­gy degree Catholic and Protes­tant stu­dents would choose are very dif­fer­ent, com­ing from a very dif­fer­ent world­view. A school’s rep­u­ta­tion and the accred­i­ta­tions it holds speak to the con­tent and qual­i­ty of the online program.

Some cours­es in a Chris­t­ian min­istry pro­gram may include:

• New Tes­ta­ment
• Bib­li­cal interpretation
• Chris­t­ian leadership
• Fam­i­ly ministry
• local church outreach
• Spir­i­tu­al formation

There­fore, stu­dents are encour­aged to begin by deter­min­ing if the school/university offer­ing the degree in min­istry pro­gram has received accred­i­ta­tion from an approved edu­ca­tion over­sight eval­u­at­ing com­pa­ny in the the­o­log­i­cal indus­try. The Asso­ci­a­tion of The­o­log­i­cal Schools in the Unit­ed States and Cana­da is the accred­it­ing agency respon­si­ble for assess­ing those insti­tu­tions of high­er edu­ca­tion that offer the­o­log­i­cal and bible stud­ies degrees.

Accred­it­ed online Bible Col­lege degrees will like­ly speak to a school that has met indus­try agreed-upon edu­ca­tion stan­dards. There­fore, it is prefer­able to enroll in one of the accred­it­ed online Bible Col­lege degrees.

A legit­i­mate online pro­gram will also qual­i­fy for finan­cial aid and have clear admis­sion require­ments for full-time or part-time stu­dents. Online stu­dents can get their offi­cial tran­scripts to go on to grad­u­ate programs.

What Are Some Different Kinds of Ministry Careers?

There are many facets and paths to fol­low if one choos­es a Min­istry career path. And, there are many jobs that glo­ri­fy God avail­able with a min­is­te­r­i­al degree and a love of God. The job descrip­tions for church posi­tions include that of a teacher, a pas­tor, or a church leader, among others.

Cam­pus Min­istry jobs offer min­is­te­r­i­al pro­fes­sion­als a career oppor­tu­ni­ty as inte­gral church admin­is­tra­tors, teach­ers, and min­is­ters. Cam­pus Min­istry jobs require min­is­ters to over­see prayer, man­age retreat pro­grams, and pro­vide pas­toral ser­vices to church mem­bers and the community.

A youth pas­tor’s job descrip­tion is anoth­er exam­ple of the many jobs that glo­ri­fy God. Youth pas­tors pro­vide guid­ance and, work in con­cert with local youth orga­ni­za­tions. A youth pas­tor’s job descrip­tion requires a min­is­ter to coun­sel young minds nav­i­gat­ing the chal­lenges of youth through prayer ser­vice, church-ori­ent­ed pro­grams, and com­mu­ni­ty participation.

There are many oppor­tu­ni­ties and jobs for ordained min­is­ters with­in a church, a non­prof­it orga­ni­za­tion, a char­i­ty, a youth orga­ni­za­tion and even in the med­ical field (such as a hos­pice chap­lain). You may even find your­self in areas out­side of church min­istries, like human services.

What Can I Do with a Biblical Studies Degree?

Have you asked your­self — What can I do with a Bib­li­cal Stud­ies degree? While the ques­tion is sim­ple, the answer is a bit more com­pli­cat­ed — because there are many career options for those who hold degrees in Bib­li­cal Studies.

A Bib­li­cal Stud­ies degree pro­vides a sol­id edu­ca­tion­al foun­da­tion that opens career options in a vari­ety of fields. Degrees in Bib­li­cal Stud­ies explore the dis­ci­plines of min­istry, reli­gious stud­ies, bib­li­cal stud­ies, and divin­i­ty. In addi­tion, degree can­di­dates explore the fun­da­men­tal core class­es in sci­ences and humanities.

The list that fol­lows pro­vides a broad look for those who hold degrees in Bib­li­cal studies.

• Cler­gy Mem­ber — spe­cial­ties include youth or music
• Hos­pice Chaplain
• Human­i­tar­i­an Worker
• Lec­tur­er
• Librar­i­an
• Mil­i­tary Chaplain
• Mis­sion­ary — work­ing in under­served pop­u­la­tions across the world
• Non­prof­it Agency Man­ag­er — i.e. Good­will or the Sal­va­tion Army
• Pas­tor — per­haps one of the most obvi­ous of poten­tial careers
• Researcher
• Social Work­er or Coun­selor — offers spir­i­tu­al guid­ance and comfort
• Teacher/Educator/Professor — may require teacher certification
• Youth Pas­tor

After earn­ing a bib­li­cal stud­ies degree, many grad­u­ates choose to enroll in a bib­li­cal master’s degree pro­gram. Still, oth­ers become reli­gious schol­ars who wish to study reli­gion from a cul­tur­al or anthro­po­log­i­cal per­spec­tive. A reli­gious under­grad­u­ate degree is a great step­ping-stone to many careers, with­in many industries.

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