A few days ago I met with a small congregation to discuss their pastoral needs. For many years they have enjoyed a fully-funded pastor who recently left the church, but their numbers have declined to the point that they weren't sure that was still a possibility. Like many marginally fully-funded churches, the salary wasn't the primary issue; providing benefits such as insurance was the problem. I was asked to talk to the congregation about what having a bivocational pastor would look like for them. About half of the congregation came for the discussion.
Because this was new to them I wanted to assure them that what they were considering was becoming more common across denominations today. I have talked with leadership from numerous denominations, and every single person has told me their numbers of bivocational ministers are growing, and they expect that growth to continue in the forseeable future. Every leader with whom I spoke said it is becoming more common for their smaller fully-funded churches to seek a bivocational pastor when it's time to call a new pastor. This information seemed to help this church realize that there was nothing wrong with them nor had they failed God in some way by not being able to support a fully-funded pastor.
We began to talk about the changes that would occur. How the pastor would not be available as easily as their fully-funded pastors had been. How they would have to step up and take over some of the responsibilities they had previously entrusted to their pastors. How the church would need to move to a pastoral care mindset to a congregational care mindset.
I then began to explain some of the benefits the church would receive by having a bivocational pastor. I gave them figures on how bivocational ministers often have longer tenures than their fully-funded counterparts. Because most bivocational ministers come from the general geographic area of the church they already have roots in those communities and already know the general area of the church. I told them how most bivocational ministers have great work ethics and how many of us have adopted the motto "Whatever it takes" to accomplish the ministry.
After discussing many of the benefits and challenges bivocational ministry would bring to the church the congregation began to ask some really good questions. It was obvious they had been talking about this before asking me to meet with them. Their questions were honest, and I felt their responses to my questions were honest as well. When we finished our 90 minute conversation the church moderator asked how many in attendance would be in favor of calling a bivocational minister as their next pastor. Every person raised their hand. This was not an official vote; that will come later in a regular business meeting, but it was an indication that this is the direction this church will go.
The good news for this church is that I already have several possible candidates I can share with their pastor search committee. That is not always the case when a church seeks to call a bivocational pastor. I am excited because this church is going into this transition with their eyes wide open. I have no doubt there will be some challenges down the road as they transition from having a fully-funded pastor to one who is bivocational, but I believe we will be able to work through them. I also believe this will provide this congregation with a new focus. Part of our discussion centered around potential ministries the church could provide to impact their community, and calling a bivocational minister will free up some of their finances to offer those ministries. Both the congregation and I left the meeting excited about the possibilities as this church begins a new era of ministry.
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