A pastor is a minister who leads a Christian church and cares for its members.

Pastors have many responsibilities: they lead worship services on Sundays, teach about Christian beliefs, perform weddings and funerals, visit people who are sick or struggling, and offer spiritual guidance. When someone in the congregation faces a difficult decision or a family crisis, they might talk to their pastor for counsel and support.

Different Christian denominations use different titles. In the Catholic Church, local church leaders are usually called priests, while some Protestant churches use minister or reverend instead of pastor. But all these leaders share similar roles in caring for their religious communities.

The word pastor emphasizes the caring, personal relationship between the leader and the church members. A good pastor knows the families in the congregation, celebrates their joys, and comforts them during hard times. Some pastors lead small country churches with fifty members, while others lead large urban congregations with thousands of people attending multiple services each week.