The Salary of an Evangelist

"Evangelist" is a general job title that refers to anyone who works to spread Christianity. The term "evangelism" means to spread the good news. Many people pursue this line of work as a career path and work as pastors or missionaries or in religious roles.

The salary range for evangelists depends on the denomination, location and exact role. There are several different evangelist jobs and roles for people to fill in this field. Those roles impact the average salary and the process of how to become an evangelist.

Working as an evangelist to spread their faith is the most rewarding career for someone passionate about their Christian faith. You will want to get involved with your church as soon as possible if you want to become an evangelist. If you don't have a home church, you should find one where you align with its teachings and practices and start volunteering.

Since an evangelist is a person who spreads Christianity, many related jobs fall into this category. The people you see behind the pulpit on Sundays are some of the most obvious. Depending on the denomination, this includes priests, pastors, preachers, reverends and ministers.

It can also help you to talk to the leadership at your church about your desires. They can help you spend time in various areas of ministry to help you find your calling.

They can also help you with the next steps in education, as many people in this field attend divinity school, Bible college or other formal training programs. Then, you can officially begin your career in evangelism.

Most churches have multiple pastors, usually including a head pastor who often preaches and other pastors in charge of various areas of ministry, such as music, youth, counseling, outreach, finance and more.

If you're seeking employment with a church, set up job alerts on a site like ZipRecruiter to better your chances of finding a good fit.

As in most fields, the highest evangelist salary goes to the head pastor, and other directors fall below. Assistant clergy, apprentices and other lower-ranking evangelists make less money. In addition to these staff members, most churches and religious institutions employ a range of people.

Other factors impact how much an evangelist makes, including their years of experience, church size and other skills they bring to their workplace. The geographic location and cost of living will also play a role, and this is where evangelist salary rankings can get confusing. For example, if a missionary is stationed in a city like New York or San Francisco, they might make more than their colleagues in a more rural post.

Most evangelists fall into the category of the clergy. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the national average salary for members of the clergy in 2021 was ​$57,230​ (median wage). The top 90th percentile earned ​$80,920​, the 75th percentile was ​$63,560​ and the 25th percentile made ​$38,800​, which is around the national average for an individual annual salary overall.

Of course, you don't need to be an official clergyperson to work as an evangelist, so it's helpful to look at the average base salary for other religious workers. Their median salary is ​$43,290​; other percentiles are proportionally less or more. These positions would include all related jobs for religious institutions, including marketing, product manager, developer evangelist, software engineer or IT person and nonclergy missionaries.

Since smaller churches have had to reduce staff or close completely, the outlook for evangelists has changed too. Becoming a "televangelist" is one of the best ways to make more money in this field, to a greater extent today than ever before. These people not only deliver Sunday sermons but also build massive communications empires that include all kinds of media and merchandising.

Two of the most famous celebrity preachers are Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer. Osteen has a net worth of about ​$40 to 60 million​ per Snopes, while Meyer's is estimated at around ​$8 million​ per Celebrity Net Worth.