Going where you are needed

One of the challenges for a bivocational minister is finding a place to serve. As I've written elsewhere, bivocational ministry is mostly geographical. Chances are a bivocational minister will not travel more than an hour to serve a church. He or she has to take into consideration their other employment and the amount of time they would spend on the road if they traveled further than that. About an hour's drive would be far enough, and even then it's going to create occasional problems.

A friend of mine felt called to bivocational ministry. He is self-employed so his hours are somewhat flexible. Still, he was struggling to find a church nearby to serve. He sent me a message recently to let me know he had accepted the call to serve a church in a different denomination that was about 20 minutes from his home. Although he expressed surprise at serving a church in that denomination he felt their theology and ministry philosophy was very close to his own. I'm happy for him and praying that he does well.

I had talked with one of the leaders of that denomination several years ago when I was doing a sabbatical study on how different denominations were addressing bivocational ministry. That leader told me that several of their smaller churches were calling bivocational ministers from different denominations including the one in which I serve. While serving in different denominations may not always work because of theological or polity differences, it can be a way for a smaller church to find a pastor and a bivocational minister to find a place in which to serve.

One of the dangers associated with this is when a minister feels he or she needs to bring that church into his or her denomination. We often hear about sheep stealing, but I've known some pastors who were into church stealing. In our denomination we've had some pastors from other denominations come in and lead the church to join the denomination they came from. I consider this highly unethical and should not be tolerated. 

When I began my pastoral ministry the denomination in which I was a member offered me no assistance in finding a church. I heard from a neighbor about a small, rural church that was seeking a pastor and sent them my resume. We each decided to take a chance with each other, and I served that congregation for 20 years. God opened a door, and I went where I was needed. My friend has done the same, and I'm sure God will bless his ministry in that church. Be open to hearing God's leadership when seeking a place to serve.