Transitioning from bivocational to fully-funded

A friend of mine responded to my previous post about some of the challenges of transitioning from being a fully-funded pastor. He wrote that he is facing the opposite situation. He is nearing retirement from his other career and will be looking at becoming a fully-funded pastor. This can also be a significant transition with a lot of challenges, especially if the pastor remains at his or her current church.

First, it's important to consider if God's call on your life has changed just because you can retire from your current outside job. I retired from my factory job in 1997 but never felt led to leave the church I was serving bivocationally. Perhaps that is because a couple of years before my retirement we had taken ownership of a small business which I was managing. I've often wondered if that was something God  made possible so I would remain at the church and continue to serve as its bivocational pastor. Regardless, I remained at that church until 2001 before I was led to accept a ministry role with our denomination. Even then, I continued to manage the business until 2010 when we closed it.

Retiring from one's other career opens up a lot of possibilities that do not necessarily mean that one becomes a fully-funded pastor. For example, I had time to write my first book which was published in 2001. That then led to several other books and speaking opportunities in the US and Canada. Perhaps if I had immediately began looking for a fully-funded church when I retired from the factory I would not have had the opportunity to do these other things.

The key is to discern God's will for your life and ministry. I have never felt led to serve as a fully-funded pastor. My calling has always been to bivocational ministry. My ministry has changed and my other careers have changed, but the call to bivocational ministry has remained the same. For others, retiring from their second careers may be God's way of sending you into fully-funded ministry. Just don't assume that is the case until you've spent much time in prayer and discernment.

For those making the transition from bivocational ministry to fully-funded ministry I would advise finding a mentor or coach to assist with that transition. It will require a different mindset and will involve different expectations from both the congregation and the minister. Having someone walk with you through that transition can help smooth out the rough places that you will encounter.