My Future: A Pastor/Missionary

At the moment, I am leaning towards becoming a pastor and missionary. I chose this career because I love helping people and spreading the word of God. My mom is a pastor and everyday she tells me, "I love what I do." It seems like such a fun and enjoyable job. Along with being a pastor I would also love to be a missionary. One day I want to go to Africa and spread the word of God. To achieve my dream of becoming a pastor and a missionary I plan to attend college at Ohio Northern University then go on to the Methodist Theological School in Ohio to receive the proper training in become a pastor. An obstacle I see along the way is money. The Methodist Theological School in Ohio costs a lot, my family had a hard time paying for it when my mom attended. To overcome these obstacles I plan on applying for many scholarships and getting good grades to receive scholarships.

Basic Information on a Pastor:

Educational Requirements-

To be a pastor, one must be ordained. To be ordained you have to attend a Theological School where you would study the traditions and beliefs about the church you wish to be ordained to. Basically a pastor needs a high school degree and a degree from a Theological School.

Job Description-

A pastor is a religious leader who teaches the word of God. They also lead regular religious services, usually Sunday morning, and conduct weddings, funerals and other religious ceremonies. Pastor's usually lead and set up religious education classes for their congregation. A pastor is also a counselor. They council people seeking religious guidance or that has troubled families or personal problems. They may also visit shut-ins or people in the hospital to pray with them.

Starting Pay-

In general a pastor's pay usually ranges from $20,000 to $70,000. The pay usually depends on the size of the congregation of the church they are serving at. The salary greatly depends on the denomination, years of experience, location and size of the congregation.

My Two Idol Pastor's-

Rev. Solomon Kinloch- Rev. Kinloch is one of my idol pastors who serves at the Triumph Church in Detroit. He is so energetic in every service he preaches at. He is full of life and energy and accepts everyone for who they are.  Ever since I met him, I have always thought of him as the nicest person I know. He cares about everyone. Rev. Kinloch is so much fun to listen to in church. I love it when someone is his congregation just bursts out into an, "Amen!" or a "Hallelujah!"

My Mom- Otherwise known as Pastor Beth, my mom is another one of my idol pastors. She is the one who makes me want to be a pastor. She enjoys every moment of her job as a pastor and I love seeing her preach every Sunday in front of the whole congregation. She makes me so proud to be her daughter.