Bi-Vocational Ministry

One "pastorpreneur" reflects on her experiences and invites others to explore if they're being called to bi- or multi-vocational ministry.

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One of the questions I get asked all the time is, “How can I do what you do?” What the person usually means with this question is “How do I take my skills and education as a pastor, deacon, or youth director and convert those skills into a new, different, or additional vocation?”

As I’m coaching or presenting, this question comes up more often than you might imagine. The question’s frequency points to church leaders being empowered to think beyond the pulpit and the pew to marketplace ministry. As church leaders see other church leaders allowing themselves to think creatively about vocation and then to act on those ideas, seeds are planted that germinate into vocational wondering, “How can I do that? What else can I do?” Then a second and deeper question buds with, “What else do I want to do?” Finally an even deeper third question blossoms with, “And do I believe I get to do that? What hang-ups about being a pastor, deacon, or youth director prevent me from even looking at that?”

The short answers to this question, often waiting after a presentation during the Q and A period, include:  

Dream. How else might God be beckoning your gifts and trust to deepen?  

Explore and learn. Get connected with networks outside of the church world; learn what is out there where your skills could serve others. 

Turn on your business brain. Learn and adapt some basic business tenets around marketing, sales, operations, and vision.

Turn off false assumptions.  If you think “because I’m a pastor or deacon I couldn’t possibly do X, Y, or Z,” check those thoughts. Be curious. What assumptions does your mind hold as absolute truth, yet they only hold so much power because you’ve never poked them to find out if they are so universally controlling?  

Take the first step. As unsteady or as unstable as it may be, take it. Take the first step. Do the first thing. In the entrepreneurial world there is a phrase for what first hits the market, “MVP.” Minimum Viable Product. The premise is you get your idea out the door in a form that is saleable and then you can tweak it, reform it, or pretty it up. You don’t wait until it is perfect; the goal is to get your idea out there as soon as it is viable. 

These are the concepts I’ve learned as a pastorpreneur for almost a decade. Vocationally, this past decade has been simultaneously exciting and exhilarating and completely exhausting and anxiety-provoking. When I felt called to step into the world of coaching and facilitating, it required me to develop infrastructure I knew nothing about and didn’t care to learn. Early on I was so stymied by the task of developing a website and all that went into that—the pictures, the verbiage, the testimonials, the payment features—that I procrastinated by writing a 15 page grant proposal instead! When I did finally meet with the web designer (after not receiving the grant and just kicking the web development task down the road), he asked me what my platform was. What did that mean? My political opinions? My beliefs? How does that relate to a website domain? We were speaking the same language but with very different understanding of the words! To say the least, the learning curve was steep.

It was definitely worth the late nights and doing new things all the time, putting myself out there. It was worth living on the edge of my skill set (the place I strongly experience the power of the Holy Spirit) and feeling that managing my schedule was like solving a college level math story problem. Being bi-vocational by choice has made my life and ministry far more complex and unwieldy but also much more interesting and exciting. God brought me here because God knows this combination best feeds my soul for the long haul which means my years in ministry will be longer and more fruitful.

God’s church needs leaders who are invigorated and hopeful. Instead of thinking of bi-vocational ministry as an unfortunate necessity while waiting for a full-time call, what if we saw the possibility of vitality bi-vocational ministry brings to the church? Bi-vocational ministry gives the church leaders who have their feet firmly planted in many different experiences. It gives the church the clergy trucker who knows the pain of rising gas prices. It gives the church the pastor who also teaches yoga and is very emotionally grounded. It gives the church the pastor who brings a mindset of goals to accomplish quarterly because they also are a consultant for a non-profit board.

You might have a bi-vocational heart if you find yourself thinking things like, “Won’t it be so cool if I could have a stall in the farmer’s market?” or “I wonder what it is like to be an electrician?” Or “I’ve always loved writing, maybe I could get a gig writing a newsletter for the local Boys and Girls Club.” 

Listen to what piques your interest and then get curious about what God might be doing in your next chapter of ministry and life.

  • Sarah Ciavarri

    Sarah Ciavarri, M.Div. BCC, PCC, CDWF-C, CDTLF, loves seeing people get excited about their lives and futures. Sarah is a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator-Consultant, Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator, and a Professional Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation. For over a decade, Sarah has traveled nationally keynoting and facilitating workshops on resilience, vulnerability, and shame. Sarah has the unique honor of serving in a leadership position with the Daring Way™ as a consultant, coaching candidates through the steps of certification. Sarah is a faculty member with Coaching4Today’s Leaders and trains coaches. Sarah is the author of Find Our Way to Truth: Seven Lies Leaders Believe and How to Let Them Go. Currently, Sarah serves as Vice President of Spiritual Life for Cassia Care.

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