Churches may hire children’s pastors to help coordinate the educational and social sides of the churches' children’s ministries. The children's pastors are usually paid according to their levels of education and experience, the location of the church and the size of the church, which is to say the number of members. The more emphasis a church places on its children’s ministry, the more money a children’s pastor can expect to earn. Larger churches typically offer more money, although this is not always the case.

Part-Time

Children’s pastors may work as few as 10 hours a week at some churches. At others, they may work 40 or more hours per week. Part-time children’s pastors can expect to earn salaries usually between about $10,000 and $20,000. The salary range for a children’s ministry staff member was between $17,500 and $47,500 as of 2008, depending on experience, according to the 2008 Children’s Ministry Magazine Annual Salary Survey. Part-time employees may make slightly higher hourly rates than full-time ministers.

Examples

A Coordinator of Children’s Ministry at a church in Baltimore, Md., had a salary between $10,000 and $19,999, according to a job listing on Christianet.com in July 2011. The position required eight to 15 hours per week. This position oversaw all of the activities in the children’s ministry of the Baltimore church.

St. Paul United Methodist Church in Atlanta posted a job listing on GrantParkParents.org as of July 2011 for a part-time children’s minister. The position paid between $6,000 and $8,000 per year. The position was for 10 hours per week.

A church in Wakeman, Ohio posted a children’s ministry director position on ChristianCareerCenter.com in March 2011. The position was part-time, although the number of hours was not specified. The salary per year was $6,000. If the position was for 10 hours per week, the hourly wage would be about $11.54.

Clergy Salary

The average annual salary of full-time clergy members in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, was $48,290 as of May 2010. The mean hourly wage was $23.22. A clergy member in the 10th percentile earned up to $24,210 per year or $11.64 per hour. One in the 25th percentile made up to $31,780 per year or $15.28 per hour. The median annual salary was $43,970 or $21.14. A clergy member in the 75th percentile took in $58,360 per year or $28.06 per hour. The 90th percentile clergy earner brought home at least $77,390 per year or $37.21 per hour. Children's ministers can expect to earn within this salary range.

Part-time children's ministers can expect to earn about the same hourly salary as full-time ministers. A part-time minister in the 10th percentile working 20 hours per week and earning the same hourly wage as a full-time minister would earn about $1,008.02 per month, and one in the 25th percentile would earn up to about $1,323.25 per month. A part-time children's minister whose wage was in the 75th percentile would earn up to about $2,430 per month, and one in the 90th percentile would earn as much as $3,200 per month, depending on the number of hours she logged per week.

Locations

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the District of Columbia was the highest-paying area in the country for clergy, paying full-time clergy members an average of $61,100 per year or $29.38 per hour as of May 2010. California was the second-highest-paying state for clergy in the United States with an average salary of $60,260 per year or $28.97 per hour. Nevada was the third-highest-paying state in the country at $59,920 on average each year or $28.81 per hour.