There are approximately 335,000 churches in the United States. And, 59% or 177,000 of them have less than 100 people on any given Sunday. Of the 177,000 a large percentage of them have 50 or less in church weekly. As a result of these numbers there is a huge group of pastors in the US that are what has become known as Bi-Vocational pastors. There was a time when we called them «part time pastors.» The term part time doesn’t fit. Bi-Vocational Pastors work two jobs. They work at some profession to provide the main source of their income and they pastor the church. But, make no mistake, there is no part time pastor. You are a pastor or you or not.
Pastors have a huge task. The role of the pastor has evolved over the years as our culture has changed. There was a time when the pastor was a key figure in the community. Actually I remember the day when pastors were consulted before major events were scheduled at the local schools. No school would schedule any event on a Wednesday night. They would not want to conflict with church and it’s activities.
As our culture has evolved so have our churches and our pastors. No longer is the church the center of community activities, even in smaller and rural communities. Sports, school, band, dance, piano lessons and other activities take our children away in so many directions that parents meet themselves coming and going. Church has taken a second or third priority in our scheduling. Boy Scout camp outs, soccer tournaments, band competitions, choir concerts and competitions all come before church.
Pastors have become less and less relevant in many communities. Churches have decreased in size. The impact of the pastor has also decreased in many cases. In order to change that trend a pastor has to involve himself and immerse himself in the community. There are community activities that he must attend to become a part of the community. There are counseling needs that fall to the pastors ledger of responsibilities. He still performs marriages and funerals and many times these are for people that do not attend his church. He visits the hospitals and with congregations growing older it’s a larger and larger part of his responsibility. The pastor visits shut ins, visitors to the church, the un-churched and others that request or need his time. Pastors have committee responsibilities in order to exert his leadership within the church. It is a full time job whether he is paid as a full time pastor or not.
So, what is a Bi-Vocational pastor and how does it fit into the traditional model we have thought of for the pastor? The Bi-Vocational pastor is a pastor doing all of the things any other pastor does but with less time. This pastor is forced to spend more time away from their family than they would like, more time out at night than is advantageous and often times more time away from work doing things for the church using their vacation time than would be healthy.
And, most Bi-Vocational pastors don’t complain. They don’t complain because they are called to the ministry. They don’t complain because they know these small churches couldn’t afford to pay a pastor a livable wage. These churches are blessed to have someone of the caliber of their Bi-Vocational pastor and they know it.
Bi-Vocational pastors fill nearly every role there is in the pastoral leadership realm. They are Senior Pastors, Music Pastors, Youth Pastors, Education Pastors, Family Pastors, Discipleship Pastors, Evangelism Pastors and probably more than this. And, thank God for these pastors and their commitment to ministry.
Many Bi-Vocational pastors are professionals such as teachers, managers, business leaders, or sales professionals. Others are construction workers, school bus drivers or clerks. In some cases they own their own businesses but in all cases they work at what they do to earn their pay checks so they can serve as a pastor of a church.
If you have a Bi-Vocational pastor count yourself blessed. And, be sure and thank them for their commitment to the Lord and to the church.
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