Can You Thrive As A Bi-Vocational Pastor

Picture this …

You are clocking out at your job, but your day is not done. 

Instead of driving home to a warm meal and rest, you still have three people from your church to visit in the hospital.

You go home, shower, put on fresh clothes, hug your family, and out the door you go.

Who are you?

You’re a Bi-Vocational Pastor.

We have seen this style of pastoring become more common in recent years.

Some would even say it will become the norm in the years to come.

Why is this?

Because most churches are smaller than we would think.

In the Assemblies of God, the fellowship I’m a part of, the average church in the US is around 65-70 people.

With this in mind and inflation at an all-time high, churches just don’t have the funds to pay a pastor full-time.

So, these churches agree with the pastor to give them a small wage as they find other employment outside the church.

With this style of pastoring becoming more popular, I wanted to talk with some bi-vocational pastors to see what their struggles are and how they make it work.

Here’s what I discovered:

Struggles Bi-Vocational Pastors face:

1. They are torn between their calling and job most days.
2. They question their calling sometimes and feel inadequate.
3. Even though they would love to, they just don’t have the time a full-time pastor does for the church.
4. They are in a constant state of balance between God, family, work, and the church.
5. They miss family events because of their limited time.
6. Since their church is small and low in funds, they fill a lot of roles at the same time.

With these struggles in mind, here are a few things I was told that help bi-vocational pastors thrive:

1. Know You Are Called By God

With the many struggles a bi-vocational pastor faces, one pastor told me, “Your calling must be sure.”

Any pastor will share that ministry is one of the hardest vocations in the world, but when tough times come, we have a divine call to rest upon.

“We know we’re called by God to be in ministry” and that “God has called us to be at the church we’re pastoring.”

Bi-vocational pastors need to know from within their very core that God has called them to the church they are in, even if the wages can’t support them fully. 

Also, a thriving bi-vocational pastor knows that his/her call isn’t tainted just because they are at a small church.

God is the one who has called us and chooses where we will go.

Bi-vocational pastors thrive when they realize their calling isn’t held up by the hours they work at the church, but by the One who called them to that church.

 2. Your Family Must Be Supportive

To truly thrive in ministry, pastors must have the support of those closest to them.

One bi-vocational pastor I talked with said it like this, “For bi-vocational ministry to work, your family must be supportive.”

With bi-vocational pastors running in multiple directions at once, they have to have a supportive and understanding team at home.

I believe this has to start with the pastor’s spouse.

Being in ministry as a pastor is a calling both husband and wife must agree on.

There will need to be discussions of balance between family and ministry, with boundaries put in place for this to work.

If both the pastor and their spouse set firm guidelines in place, the support needed from home will come automatically.

3. Your Church Has To Understand You Are Bi-Vocational

One thing that can hinder any pastor is if their church and/or church board have unrealistic expectations of them.

Another bi-vocational pastor I talked with said, “The church has to be willing to work with you … There will be sacrifices on both sides”.

For a bi-vocational pastor to thrive, they must have clear guidelines of what is expected of them within their part-time role at the church.

We all know that pastoring will always take more time than we’re paid for. That’s just a fact of our calling.

However, bi-vocational pastors can feel taken advantage of when told in the interview process their role is only part-time, but later find out that the people expect them to still do what a full-time pastor does.

This will never work, and many pastors have been hurt and burned out trying to achieve it.

To fix this, both the pastor and the church will need to talk through his/her job descriptions and expectations with realistic lenses. 

Call to Action

So, can you thrive as a Bi-Vocational Pastor?

YES! And God is calling more and more people to it.

But only if you know you’re called, have the support of your family, and go into it with a church that understands the role they’re asking you to play.

What Do You Think

What about you? 

Do you have another tip I didn’t mention?

Feel free to share in the comments section below!