Churches in many places in the world are small or have little income. These churches are unable to support financially a pastor for full-time work. In order to survive, a pastor needs to work a second job or his or her spouse must work. I myself have been in this situation several times. I am grateful that my wife was able to work and support our family. Her work allowed me to pastor several small churches that might not otherwise have had a pastor. Being bi-vocational adds a level of stress that often is overlooked or even neglected by leaders. I want to reflect on the beneficial and detrimental aspects of bi-vocational ministry. Some people do not like this term and have suggested using “dual vocation.” The specific terms used do not matter.
First, we can find a good example of this type of ministry in Paul the Apostle who worked to support himself by making tents (Acts 18:3). He often worked hard with his own hands in order that he might not be a burden to the ministry of local churches (2 Corinthians 11:9). The benefits that Paul and the churches experienced through his tent-making labor include:
- Financial independence: By being dependent on a church for income, a pastor in some ways is controlled by a church. This minimally includes the expectations on time. The pastor is viewed as an employee who must put in 40-60 hours a week. Most churches will give some independence to pastors, but there is still many expectations which can become a heaven burden for some people.
- Contact in community: Being bi-vocational allows a pastor to have contact with non-believers out in the world. Paul had many opportunities to share about Christ with those he met in the local markets. It is highly likely that many of the new believers in the early church were the fruit of Paul’s witness in the marketplace. Pastors who work only out of the church can too easily become isolated from non-believers.
- Ability to move to new areas: Paul was able to take his skills to new locations and plant new churches. Most new churches today require their founding pastors to be bi-vocational. If there are no pastors willing to work another job while starting a church, church planting is unlikely to happen. It will take sacrifice and hard work to do this.
Second, there are some challenges to bi-vocational ministry:
- Time commitment: Pastors who must work outside of the church often have very tight schedules. They have to work hard to keep up with all they do. This can make deep reflection for sermons or time in prayer difficult. Working a second job makes it difficult to do activities like visitation of members. Generally, something suffers in the ministry because the pastor has no time.
- Physical exhaustion: I have been amazed this week to hear of the dedication of one of our island pastors. He works at least 60 hours a week six days a week in his secular work and then gives almost every evening and most of Sundays to the work of ministry. He is a non-paid volunteer at his church. Needless to say, his church is growing and starting new ministries. At some point, I worry that his body will wear out. Working two jobs can be exhausting. It is difficult to maintain this type of schedule for long. Something will begin to break down: the ministry and/or the pastor.
- Lack of participation: Working pastors often cannot attend district or educational meetings. They can become isolated because they are not able to take off time to go to these activities. Most of such activities are scheduled for the day time when they may be working.
Some recommendations for more effective bi-vocational ministry:
- Remember we are in ministry not for the money: How much are we willing to sacrifice to follow God’s call? This is a question each person who serves as a pastor must answer. We need a new generation of pastors who are willing to sacrifice in order to plant churches or go to small churches that struggle to find a pastor.
- A call to creativity: Starting new churches will require new methods. The old system of starting a church with a nice building just will not work in most places. If we want new churches, they will need to be started by bi-vocational pastors.
- We must redefine what we mean by “ministry.” There is value in the professional paid clergy but also disadvantages such as having the local church put all the ministry upon the shoulders of the pastor, or treating the pastor as a paid employee and thus expecting him or her to do all the work of the local church.
- New ways of meeting and training: Since most bi-vocational pastors cannot attend many gatherings because of their jobs, leaders must find new ways of doing this, including video conferencing, alternative meeting times, or financial assistance.
For more pastoral reflections, click here.