For years I have said that we would continue to see an increase in the number of bivocational ministers serving our churches. I've addressed this in some of the books I've written and in the various seminars and workshops I've led. People like Lyle Schaller was predicting years ago that churches of 120 or less would be led by bivocational pastors or bivocational teams by 2010. While many churches this size continue to believe they must have a fully-funded pastor, they are also learning that finding a seminary-trained, fully-funded pastor is not easy these days. There are many reasons for this which I've covered in past posts on this blog, but the bottom line is that such pastors are seldom eager to serve in these smaller churches. I would agree with those who would reply it should not be that way, but it is the realty whether we like it or not.
I spent 14 years serving as an Area Minister in the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky. During that time I worked with dozens of pastor search committees and saw first-hand how difficult it became to find fully-funded pastors for many of those churches. At the same time, I encountered a great deal of reluctance from many of them when I suggested they consider a bivocational pastor. They seemed to believe that calling a bivocational pastor would be a step-back for them. In fact, while I was serving as a bivocational pastor in a church, another church asked if I would meet with their search committee. The chair mentioned they would expect me to quit my factory job and serve there as a full-time (her words, not mine) pastor. When I responded I would not do that, she said the church would never go backwards by calling someone who wasn't full-time, and that they had always had a full-time pastor. I asked, "Is that why your church is all the way up to 75 people in attendance?" Yes, I was much younger then and not always very politically correct, but it did end the conversation rather quickly!
People forget that as our country moved west most of our churches were served by bivocational pastors, especially Baptist and Methodist churches. In fact, until the 1950s bivocational ministers were the norm in these churches. A book was published around that time that emphasized that churches needed full-time, seminary trained pastors if they were ever to be a real church, and too many churches and denominations bought into that mindset. The fact is, from biblical times forward, bivocational ministers have been the norm.
Let me quickly state that this in no way implies there is anything wrong with seminary-trained, fully-funded pastors. I am not advocating that one is better than the other. Many churches need such pastors. Perhaps it would even be best if every pastor served in that way, but the reality is that most churches of 120 people, or less, will struggle to find such people. I certainly am not saying that they have to settle for something less when they call a bivocational pastor. That was the mindset of many when I began in 1981 serving a small church as their bivocational pastor, but it wasn't true then and it's not true now.
Again, I am approaching this from a practical perspective. In the 21st century, churches of 120, plus or minus, are going to struggle to find a seminary-trained, fully-funded pastor. Many of these churches will find that a bivocational pastor will serve them better, and longer, than the other pastors. In a study I conducted in 2004 I found that bivocational pastors remained at their church longer than fully-funded pastors. Other studies have determined the same thing. These pastors are often going to be local people, or at least live close to the church, they have roots in the community and they work in the community. They are much less likely to move.
If you are in a church of 120-150 or less, at least consider calling a bivocational minister. If you've been used to a fully-funded pastor it might require some re-thinking on your part as what the expectations will be of the pastor and of the congregation, but for many of these churches such re-thinking is probably long overdue.