Tentmaking 4 (Jeff Cook)

Finances : Tentmaking 4

According to a 2008 compensation survey from LifeWay, the average pastor of a small church with between 50 and 74 members makes $39,459. For a bivocational pastor of the same size church, the average salary is $10,181. I had a recent conversation with a magazine editor who said that bivocational ministry is good because it allows the church to give more. This was reflected in many of the posts Monday when we asked why bi-vocational ministry is worth whiled.

Practically – Having a pastor that has a second job opens up many doors. As a church planter myself, I know I would not have been able to start Atlas (my church community) without having a second job. I sought support, came up dry, and had to find a different way to do it. Idealistically –

As the church reminds itself of the poor around the world, isn’t bivocational ministry a natural solution? Can’t we save countless lives if our leaders would simply get other jobs to support themselves? Yet on the flip side, isn’t then the burden *both* of giving and creating the church being carried by the pastor’s family? And should we expect one family in our communities to sacrifice and carry so much? Is not a communal sacrifice better—but how do we get there if we do not have someone dedicating significant –dare we say “full-time”—energy to leading?