What Jobs Can Former Pastors Actually Get? The Step-by-Step Clarity Process
Read Time: 3.5 minutes
Todd Linder
Founder & Head Coach
Overview
Welcome to the Ministry To Marketplace Minute! Today, we're getting into one of the most paralyzing questions in the transition: "What job would I even look for?" I'm going to break down a real conversation I had with Bobby, a pastor, and show you the exact process I walked him through to start identifying marketplace job titles that actually fit. So let's dive in.
Today's Ministry To Marketplace Minute:
Mindset Shift: The best vocational jobs for former pastors are found in what you do every day.
Strategy Shift: How to figure out what types of corporate jobs you can get as a pastor.
Do This Right Now: Start with your ministry experience.
Who Will Hire Me?: 5 ministry friendly organizations with jobs for ex-pastors.
🧠 MINDSET SHIFT: The best vocational jobs for former pastors are found in what you do every day.
The biggest mistake I see former pastors make is searching for jobs by title instead of by what they actually do.
When Bobby came on the call, his title was Pastor.
But your title could be anything. Lead Pastor. Associate Pastor. Discipleship Pastor. Youth Pastor. Worship Pastor.
Or, something that isn’t even “pastor.” It could be in ministry but not in church.
But when you’re making a transition out of vocational ministry, aiming at job titles won’t work.
The title is not the point. The day-to-day work is.
Likely, “pastor” (or any other ministry title) doesn’t describe the 19 different jobs you do.
What you actually do, the things that fill your calendar and take your energy, those are what carry over into the marketplace.
And most of the time, people are doing very similar work in their corporate jobs.
They just call it something different.
That's the shift that changes everything. Stop leading with the title you hold. Start leading with the work you do.
♟️ STRATEGY SHIFT: How to figure out what types of corporate jobs you can get as a pastor.
Let’s walk through the process that I walked Bobby through to get clarity.
Clarity for your next job is about evaluation.
Evaluating what you have done in the past (that you could get hired to do again).
Evaluating what you enjoy (so that you’re not stuck doing a job you don’t want to be doing).
Evaluating what skills you’ve picked up that will support your family (so you don’t have to start over at a lower salary).
We built a tool in the Interview Accelerator called the Career Compass that gives you a list of job titles that actually fit you and that you could get hired for based on a large list of factors. I review each person’s answers and then give a list in a very detailed PDF.
We’re thinking about releasing this as a standalone tool in the future. If you’re interested in being updated when it comes out, CLICK HERE to get on the list!
So here’s how we did it with Bobby.
You can watch the full 10 minute video of me coaching Bobby through this here.
Step 1: List the primary functions of your current role.
Start broad.
Ask yourself, “What are the two to four things that take up the most of my time week to week?”
Not every task. The main categories.
Bobby listed three: recruiting volunteers, engaging and equipping volunteers, and building community partnerships.
That's it. Three big buckets.
Step 2: Break down the actions inside each function.
For each function, ask yourself, “What do I actually do to make this happen? Step by step, what are the actions I take?”
For volunteer recruitment, Bobby described it like this.
He would pull up the church database
Look for people who weren't plugged in
Identify who might be a good fit based on his personal knowledge of them
Have an in-person conversation
Then hand them off to the team leader to continue the relationship.
Fun fact.
That is exactly what a recruiter or talent acquisition specialist does:
Database. Research. Conversation. Warm handoff.
The job function is functionally identical. The vocabulary is just different.
Step 3: Rate what you actually enjoy.
This part matters as much as the others.
If you find a job title that overlaps with your functions but you hate doing that function, none of this matters.
That ranking now tells you where to aim.
We are not just looking for any overlap. We are looking for the overlap in what you are good at and what you enjoy.
✅ DO THIS RIGHT NOW: Start with your ministry experience.
Write down the two to four main functions of your current ministry role.
For each function, list out the specific actions you take to make it happen. Think step by step.
Rate those functions from what you enjoy most to least.
Take your top one or two and ask yourself: who else does this in the marketplace, just under a different name? You can even plug this into Claude and ask it to suggest job titles where people perform these functions.
Disclaimer here: Use it as a starting point, not a final answer. AI should not tell you what job to do next. Talk to people who are in that job. Figure out what it is really like.
🚀 FROM THE COACHING GROUP
I was able to have a great conversation with a connection at Salesforce who confirmed all the work this program has taught is right on… offered to personally mentor and refer me to the right jobs within Salesforce!
🤝 WHO WILL HIRE ME?: 5 ministry friendly organizations with jobs for ex-pastors.
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How we can help you:
FREE Ultimate Guide To Your Ministry To Marketplace Transition Our entire process in a free (yes, FREE) guide that walks you step-by-step through the essentials of landing a marketplace job that you'll enjoy, and supports your family. Each section builds on the next: clarity, translation, resume, and LinkedIn connections… everything you need to start seeing traction in your search. You can sign up here >>> Sign up for the Ultimate Guide.
The Ministry To Marketplace Interview Accelerator Join 130+ others who have successfully transitioned from ministry into marketplace jobs that value their experience. The Interview Accelerator will give you our proven step-by-step process, coaching, and community for getting more interviews for jobs that value your ministry experience and support your family. Let's hop on a call!
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