New Church Specialties

I am excited to announce that I have accepted a part-time position with New Church Specialties as a Senior Consultant. My primary responsibility will be to develop their ministry to bivocational and small church leaders and the churches they serve. NCS works with over 20 denominations and judicatories to provide consulting, teaching, and coaching services to them and their churches. This is a great opportunity to expand my ministry to bivocational ministers and their churches. You can learn more about NCS at their website.

The research I'm doing on my current sabbatical indicates that most denominations have the same issues with bivocational ministry. Although the denominational leaders with whom I've spoken all agree that bivocational ministry is increasing in their denominations, they have no intentional effort to identify persons who might be called to this ministry. I'm also finding big differences in how training is offered to these persons. Some denominations have very specific requirements for training while others make it available but do not require it. There are also differences between judicatories within the same denominations regarding training. Most denominational leaders also admit they have very poor records concerning their current bivocational ministers. Because there are often various ways a minister can be identified, not all bivocational ministers are identified as such.

It is my hope that my work with NCS can address some of these problems. Nearly everyone agrees that bivocational ministry is growing and that it is difficult to find leaders to fill this need. Believing that God is calling persons to these positions I believe that we must find better ways to help people identify that call on their lives and find better ways to train and develop these persons for ministry.

If I can be of assistance to your church, judicatory, or denomination, please do not hesitate to contact me.