Religious degrees have limited utility... at least at the lower levels. Some would argue not at the higher levels, either; though there's no arguing that a Master of Divinity (MDiv), or a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) plus a Master of Theology (MTh or ThM), can get a person ordained into ministry where s/he may become a parish pastor, etc. And really large churches (and most even medium-sized ones) can usually pay their pastors fairly well.
Degrees in ministry, missions, evangelism, etc., at the associates or even the bachelors level, tend to qualify one for lay ministry of some kind, but not usually ordained ministry to Word and Sacrament.
Sadly, at least in the US, unless such degrees are from "regionally" accredited colleges/universities, most employers won't even take them seriously as degrees. At least if they're from "regionally" accredited schools, they contain normal lower-division general education (LDGE), and are structured like secular degrees. But if, atop their being low-level degrees, they're also from purely religious institutions which aren't accredited, then they're worth even less.
An associates degree in evangelism and missions, if it's "regionally" accredited, is nevertheless an associates degree; so no employer who advertised that the job candidate must have at least an associates could ignore it.
However, such a degree is most likely best as a stepping stone to a bachelors degree in ministry, missions, evangelism, theology, divinity, etc. And those degrees would definitely qualify one for lay and/or diaconal ministry, or any of a numberr of religious jobs.
When it comes to earning money in religion, the mere phrasing of it what way is almost oxymoronic. People don't -- or at least shouldn't -- get into ministry for the money. There usually isn't enough to even talk about...
...unless, of course, we're talking about one of the big televangelists, and I question at least SOME of their sincerety and Godliness, in any case. Plus, it's not like those kinds of jobs are sitting out there, unfilled... or even advertised.
So if you're thinking more about money than about being an evangelist or missionary, then you're probably pursuing the wrong vocation.
I think you need to take one giant step back and do some serious discernment to figure out if you're really pursuing the right thing. Evangelists and missionaries feel "called." They understand what they're in for and why they're doing it. None of them is worried about the money (beyond, of course, whatever they need to subsist... and I don't think that that's what you mean).
Hope that helps.
Answered By: Gregg DesElms - 2/22/2011 |