Advantages for the bivocational minister

 Bivocational ministers face a lot of challenges, the one most often heard expressed is a lack of time to get everything done. Others feel a lack of respect from other pastors and denominational leaders. Some are frustrated they are not serving full time. Some churches expect the ministry of a fully-funded pastor while only paying a salary of a bivocational pastor. The list could go on, but there are also some significant advantages of being a bivocational pastor.

Because bivocational ministry tends to be geographic the bivocational pastor is likely to serve a church in his or her community. When I sent my resume to my first church I explained that while I did not have experience or even a ministerial education, I did know where the hospital is and the roads and streets the people lived on. I had spent almost my entire life in this community. I graduated from the same schools my children were attending. I didn't have to learn a new community. Because I had another job in the community, it was less likely that I would seek to move. Studies find that bivocational ministers tend to stay at the same church longer than fully-funded pastors.

Bivocational ministers often share some common experiences with members of their churches. The church I served was made up primarily of blue collar workers and farmers. I was raised on dairy farms in the area and worked in a factory when I started my ministry there. I fit in very well with the membership of the church and was able to relate to many of their challenges and concerns.

Speaking of an outside job, I didn't worry nearly as much about church politics as some fully-funded pastors. My first pastor as an adult shared with me that he could not speak on a doctrinal issue because the church would fire him if he did, and he had a wife and children to support. I didn't agree with his reasoning, but I understood it. That is something I never had to worry about as a bivocational pastor. If the church tells me on Sunday to not come back, I'll go into work the next day and bring a paycheck home on Friday. There is tremendous freedom in that.

While this isn't true in every bivocational church, many in these churches understand that the pastor cannot always be available. When our church began to grow our deacons assumed more of the responsibility to providing pastoral care to our members so I could have more time to devote to our visitors and new members. It made the workload much more manageable.

I always say that bivocational ministry isn't better or less than fully-funded ministry. It is simply a different calling God gives some people to meet the needs of a church at that point in its life. While there will always be challenges to bivocational ministry, there are also advantages that can be enjoyed.