A means to an end: The sustainability of bivocational ministry.

摘要

There is a growing demographic of bivocational pastors, pastors whose income comes from a source other than the congregation they serve. These pastors preach on Sunday about living all of life as unto the Lord, but then on Monday morning they lead by example as to what that looks like in the world outside of church. Credibility is given to the words they use on Sunday because of what they do on Monday. Life is given to the congregation they serve because the pastor leads from within as opposed to leading from above, having walked and worked where their congregations do. This study's primary focus was to understand the nature of bivocational ministry as it pertains to the future of the church. I interviewed pastors who were or are presently bivocational and analyzed those interviews in order to gain insight into this model of ministry.;The purpose of this project was to explore bivocational ministry among fruitful, successful pastors across the United States to determine what makes it a sustainable model for ministry. This determination would be ascertained by using a qualitative interview approach for the purposes of creating conversation with twelve pastors who were or are presently bivocational in order to determine what makes bivocational ministry a sustainable model for ministry. My goal was to understand why these pastors pursued bivocational ministry, to learn how they nurture their soul and what the fruit of their ministry looks like, both in the congregation they serve and the job they work outside of church.;After analyzing the interview data received from twelve bivocational pastors there were five major findings that warranted further exploration.;First, these pastors led unique expressions of being and doing church. By the very nature of being bivocational, these pastors were prevented from over functioning. In order for community to take place and the church to thrive, these pastors were committed to cultivating disciples and releasing the church for ministry. These pastors intentionally invested in leaders, and the net effect was multiplied ministry.;Second, these pastors were committed to reaching unreached people groups in their own context. These twelve bivocational pastors were missionaries to those who were done with church or articulated no faith in Christ. Consequently, the congregations they led shared that same vision and lifestyle.;Third, these pastors were uniquely Wesleyan, knowingly or not. There were some who articulated Wesleyan values and others who articulated a similar vision. They all worked to make this world a better place and ultimately understood "better" as being a part of the Kingdom of God.;Fourth, all of these pastors were committed to developing and deepening relationships within the community. These relationships stemmed from friendships and partnerships in the work place and were intentionally nurtured with the ultimate goal that God's grace would be revealed to and his kingdom received by coworkers and colleagues.;Fifth, these pastors had clear boundaries and were necessarily committed to the mastery of time management. They knew the limits and extent of their own giftedness and ability and developed people around them accordingly. They were also clear on how they used their time and maximized their time to the best of their ability.