“Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.” – 1 Thessalonians 2:9
Ray Gilder is the national coordinator for the Southern Baptist Convention Bivocational and Small Church Leadership Network, as well as being a bi-vocational pastor. In an article entitled: “8 Reasons to be a Bivocational Pastor” he gives the 8 reasons:
1. If he is inspired by the example of the Apostle Paul. Paul supported himself by making tents (Acts 18:3) while he focused on preaching the Gospel and starting churches. He refused to be a burden to others (2 Thessalonians 3:7-9).
2. If he is willing to work so a small church can have a pastor.
3. If he does not view this church as a stepping stone to a bigger and “better” church.
4. If he is willing to invest his life in a small church setting which may never be able to pay him a full-time salary.
5. If he is interested in taking the light of Christ into the marketplace of the world.
6. If he would like to see his church invest more of its money in ministry and missions.
7. If he is committed to planting a church in a community where there is little or no Gospel witness.
8. If he feels led to be an intentional bi-vocational pastor, perhaps because he has a business or career that God had provided and is using to provide for his family. Many of these experience a call to ministry later in life.
Ministry is not just for the full-time pastor. Today in prayer, thank the Lord for tent-maker pastors and seek to be more involved in ministering to others.
“The man who has had the greatest impact on my life as a Christian and mentor was my father, who was a bi-vocational pastor. When he passed away a few years ago, the words he used to define his ministry were carved on his gravestone: ‘I work to live, but I live to preach.’” - Seaborn Dell
God’s Word: “For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:7-8
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