Full-Time vs. Bi-Vocational Ministry

 

One of the main questions that all ministers have to prayerfully consider is whether they are called to do ministry full-time or part-time. The beauty of ministry is that there is no right answer. Whether you end up doing ministry as a full-time profession or whether you decide to do ministry part-time and have another job, God can use you in powerful ways that you might never have imagined. The key is that no matter your ministry situation you make sure you serve God faithfully. That being said, my goal today is to highlight a few pros and cons of both full and part-time ministry to hopefully help give you some insight as you possibly seek to decide on what type of ministry God might be calling you to. Since I’ve had the privilege of seeing both sides of the fence, I hope that my insight can be helpful to you, so let’s get to it!

Full-Time Ministry:

Let’s start with full-time ministry because, for young people thinking about going into ministry, it seems like this is always the first option. There’s nothing wrong with that way of thinking so long as it’s done with an open mind and a willingness to do whatever ministry God calls you to. There are a lot of benefits of full-time ministry, but for me, the top one is simply time. The amount of time and focus that you get to pour into sermon prep, ministry planning, vision casting, event planning, and the countless other behind-the-scenes ministry things that no one will ever know about is invaluable in my opinion. Just having the office time to simply read and prepare sermons and Bible studies is something that all ministers long for and shouldn’t be taken for granted! If full-time ministry is your calling and that is where you end up, make sure and thank God for giving you the time to focus on the ministry He has called you to. 

The biggest downside of full-time ministry, in my opinion, is the fact that you very rarely get the opportunity to spend regular, purposeful time with non-believers or non-church people. Part of the reason that anyone gets into ministry is a burning desire to preach the gospel and lead people to Christ. If you are in the church office all week long, then it can be difficult to have interactions with non-believers regularly. Now, I realize that there will probably be many people in full-time ministry who will disagree with that viewpoint and say that I just need to be more intentional and try harder to get out and meet people. To be fair, they are probably right. But it’s so easy for the responsibilities of ministry to bog you down and keep you in the office all week that you can look up and realize you haven’t been outside the church in weeks! 

Regardless of the pros or cons, if God has called you to full-time ministry, you need to answer that call and faithfully serve in the setting in which He places you. Anything less would be foolish. 

Bi-Vocational Ministry:

Bi-vocational ministry is certainly a less “sexy” way to do ministry for most people, but I’ve learned to love it over the years. I currently serve as the Senior Pastor of a church in a bi-vocational role, and I love the opportunity God has given me. In my opinion, the biggest pro for bi-vocational ministry is the opportunity I get every day to interact with non-believers at my job. I work at a company with over 100 employees, most of whom aren’t believers (at least based on the conversations I’ve had with many of them). That means that every conversation I have every day has the potential to lead someone to Christ. What a great opportunity to live out what I’m preaching to my congregants each week! I love that I’m out in the world working and able to model Christ’s love, mercy, and grace to those I’m called to in this community! That’s a huge draw for bi-vocational ministry for me.

The obvious con of bi-vocational ministry is simply managing time. I work 8-5 Monday through Friday at my full-time job, I have a wife and two small boys at home, and I have other hobbies and projects (like this blog) that I have to dedicate time to each week. That makes finding, or making, time for ministry hard sometimes. It takes intentional and dedicated time management to make sure that my ministry work doesn’t get pushed to the back burner. The amount of ministry responsibility isn’t necessarily less just because I don’t work in my church office, but I have much less time to dedicate to it. That’s not an excuse either, just an observation.

Like full-time ministry, regardless of the pros and cons, if you are called to a bi-vocational ministry like me embrace it and enjoy it! There are so many blessings that come with doing ministry part-time and working in the world, don’t ever feel like you didn’t “make it” because you are part-time. God just has a special calling for you and you need to answer it!

When it comes down to it, there’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to ministry. Whether you end up doing it full-time or part-time, the reality is that God has given you an incredible calling and it is your duty to answer that call. Answer the call, be faithful in how and where you serve, and be thankful that God has given you such an incredible opportunity!