Directors, Religious Activities and Education - 21-2021.00

Plan, direct, or coordinate programs designed to promote the religious education or activities of a denominational group. May provide counseling and guidance relative to marital, health, financial, and religious problems.

Sample of reported job titles: Adult Ministries Director, Children's Ministries Director, Christian Education Director, Religious Education Coordinator, Religious Education Director, Senior Adults Director, Student Ministries Director, Women's Ministry Director, Youth Director, Youth Ministry Director

Tasks

• Identify and recruit potential volunteer workers.
• Develop or direct study courses or religious education programs within congregations.
• Publicize programs through sources such as newsletters, bulletins, or mailings.
• Train and supervise religious education instructional staff.
• Select appropriate curricula or class structures for educational programs.
• Collaborate with other ministry members to establish goals and objectives for religious education programs or to develop ways to encourage program participation.
• Implement program plans by ordering needed materials, scheduling speakers, reserving space, or handling other administrative details.
• Counsel individuals regarding interpersonal, health, financial, or religious problems.
• Confer with clergy members, congregational officials, or congregational organizations to encourage support of or participation in religious education activities.
• Schedule special events such as camps, conferences, meetings, seminars, or retreats.
• Analyze member participation or changes in congregational emphasis to determine needs for religious education.
• Attend workshops, seminars, or conferences to obtain program ideas, information, or resources.
• Locate and distribute resources, such as periodicals or curricula, to enhance the effectiveness of educational programs.
• Analyze revenue and program cost data to determine budget priorities.
• Plan or conduct conferences dealing with the interpretation of religious ideas or convictions.
• Plan fundraising activities for the church.
• Visit congregational members' homes or arrange for pastoral visits to provide information or resources regarding religious education programs.
• Interpret religious education activities to the public through speaking, leading discussions, or writing articles for local or national publications.

Technology Skills

• Calendar and scheduling software - Event scheduling software
• Data base user interface and query software - Database software
• Desktop publishing software - Microsoft Publisher
• Electronic mail software - Email software; Microsoft Outlook
• Instant messaging software - Twitter
• Internet browser software - Web browser software
• Office suite software - Microsoft Office
• Presentation software - Microsoft PowerPoint
• Spreadsheet software - Microsoft Excel
• Web page creation and editing software - Facebook ; Website development software
• Word processing software - Microsoft Word

Tools Used

• Desktop computers
• Laser printers - Computer laser printers
• Mobile phones - Smart phones
• Notebook computers - Laptop computers
• Personal computers
• Tablet computers

Knowledge

• Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

Skills

• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
• Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
• Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
• Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.

Abilities

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
• Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

Interests

• Interest code: ESC
  • Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
  • Social - Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
  • Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Work Context

• Telephone - 89% responded “Every day.”
• Contact With Others - 81% responded “Constant contact with others.”
• Work With Work Group or Team - 79% responded “Extremely important.”
• Face-to-Face Discussions - 83% responded “Every day.”
• Structured versus Unstructured Work - 66% responded “A lot of freedom.”
• Coordinate or Lead Others - 72% responded “Extremely important.”
• Electronic Mail - 77% responded “Every day.”
• Deal With External Customers - 65% responded “Extremely important.”
• Freedom to Make Decisions - 65% responded “A lot of freedom.”
• Frequency of Decision Making - 70% responded “Every day.”
• Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results - 52% responded “Very important results.”
• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled - 67% responded “Every day.”
• Responsibility for Outcomes and Results - 39% responded “Very high responsibility.”
• Letters and Memos - 49% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
• Time Pressure - 64% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
• Spend Time Sitting - 43% responded “More than half the time.”
• Public Speaking - 50% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate - 49% responded “Important.”
• Responsible for Others' Health and Safety - 29% responded “High responsibility.”
• Duration of Typical Work Week - 37% responded “More than 40 hours.”
• Frequency of Conflict Situations - 42% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”

Education

Percentage of Respondents	Education Level Required
82%	Bachelor's degree
10%	Master's degree
6%	High school diploma or equivalent

Work Styles

• Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
• Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical.
• Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
• Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
• Leadership - Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
• Self Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
• Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
• Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
• Social Orientation - Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
• Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
• Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
• Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
• Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
• Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
• Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
• Analytical Thinking - Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.

Work Values

• Relationships - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
• Achievement - Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
• Independence - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

Wages & Trends

• Median wages (2017)
  • $18.74 hourly, $38,980 annual
• Employment (2016)
  • 147,000 employees
• Projected growth (2016-2026)
  • Average (5% to 9%)
• Projected job openings (2016-2026)
  • 19,400