Bivocational ministry

 I have spent my life serving in bivocational ministries and supporting bivocational ministry. Many of my books focused on bivocational ministry. I served as a bivocational pastor of one church for 20 years. Even as a Regional Minister I also owned and managed a small business and led conferences and seminars for numerous denominations across the US and Canada. I was blessed to have an Executive Minister who supported what I did. I love bivocational ministry and those who serve in such ministries. I can truly say that bivocational ministers are my heroes.

There was a time when bivocational ministry was seen as a "less-than" ministry. After all, if God had called you into ministry that meant that you have to have an MDiv. degree and serve full-time in ministry. Really? In Baptist and Methodist life bivocational ministers were the norm until around the 1950s when ministry became professionalized. For three decades I have been advocating that we will see a major increase in the number of bivocational ministers, and it appears I was right. Many denominations are reporting their numbers of bivocational ministers are growing. Many do not have actual numbers because their church reporting forms do not provide space to identify bivocational leadership, so the reported numbers may not show what is actually happening. However, when you talk to denominational and judicatory leadership you find that those numbers are increasing.

It's not just smaller churches that are calling bivocational leadership. Mid-side churches are also calling bivocational pastors and bivocational staff. These churches are less concerned about degrees and more concerned with what individuals can do. Many are being wonderfully served by these bivocational ministers.

Too many churches call a "fully-funded" pastor and expect him or her to do all the ministry the church needs. Members of the congregation become spectators and score keepers making sure the minister makes the appropriate number of visits, attends the important meetings, and grows the church to acceptable numbers. Meanwhile, they sit in the pews waiting to "be fed" never realizing that Scripture is clear that all believers are called to do ministry. Eph. 4 teaches that God provides ministers to the church so they can equip the saints to do the work of ministry. One advantage of bivocational ministry is that people understand that the pastor cannot do it all, and more of the congregation are involved in ministry. When that happens, it's a wonderful thing that produces good results for everyone.