excerps from: The Dual-Career Minister
(Bi-vocational Ministry In the 21st Century) James Y. Greene, Ph. D.

Bi-vocational Ministry
is ministry performed by an individual who is partially supported in a ministerial role by a church.
Usually the person described as Bi-vocational has at least two paying jobs concurrently. One of those is church-related.

The non church responsibility often provides the individual's major income.
The following scenarios are given for Clarification:

  • A person who works at a paid secular job from the home, or is a full-time student and receives partial salary from church-related work is seen here as Bi-vocational.
  • A person such as a military, hospital or institutional chaplain who carries a second non church job for which there is remuneration is considered here Bi-Vocational.
  • If a second source of income is from a denominational role, and receives partial salary from church-related work is seen here as Bi-Vocational.
  • If a second source of income is from a retirement or disability, and receives partial salary from church-related work is seen here as Bi-Vocational.
  • If that second job is in a ministerial role within the same church, the person would not be considered, Bi-Vocational.
  • Some financial support for the church-related responsibility constitutes Bi-Vocational, as distinguished from volunteer.
  • The person who has support from another source
    and serves in some church-related capacity with remuneration is seen as Bi-Vocational.
  • The person who has support from another source
    and serves in some church-related capacity with no remuneration is seen as a volunteer.
  • Some call a minister who is not fully supported by a church "part-time",
    That is not really fair.
    The Bi-Vocational Pastor serves "full-time" in the ministerial role, working double time
    [Ministry in the Church Field and Ministry in the Secular Work Field] "DUAL MINISTRY".
    The person is not Part-time.


Dual~career ministry
  • Dual-career ministry is descriptive of
    • a person who does not see God's world divided into so-called sacred and secular dimensions
      and does not see how they support their family as a primary issue.

  • Some of the most effective Bi-Vocational ministers, find their ministry in both jobs,
    • and feel that God makes no distinction between them,
      and see "the jobs" as joyfully integrated ministries.

    • They simply have two or more roles in which they function as ministers;
      both are of importance in ministry.

    • They are dual- career ministers.


Bi-vocational Life/Work Style
  • The decision to pursue Bi-Vocational ministry is a lifestyle decision.

  • The satisfactions, limitations, problems and values of concurrent involvement in two or more different jobs,however good, the process, has a major impact on the entire family's total life.

  • A decision to pursue Bi-Vocational ministry is one of the two or three most influential commitments a person can make.

  • The balancing of two or more jobs requires unusual discipline, especially if a family is involved and is to remain healthy.


Fully-Supported Minister
(or Ministry)

  • The phenomenon in which a church or church-related institution pays all of the salary
    and expects a minister not to engage in other work is relatively recent.

  • The expectations of exclusive attention to that job, by the way, may be counter productive.


Non church Work

  • I am very uncomfortable with the commonly-used distinction between the sacred and the so-called secular.

  • My understanding of God, God's world, and the appropriate perspective for God's human creatures make me unwilling to use these terms.

  • Non church is the term I will use to emphasize that work not formally related to the church is simply that,
    not church-related.

  • The term has nothing to do with call;
    • I think God calls to non church-related work as often as to church-related work.

    • The term has nothing to do with loving service to people,
      much work which is in no way formally connected to a church is more loving and provides more service than some work paid for by churches.









Intentional Bi-Vocational Ministry
(or Preparation)

  • Students who are exploring their sense of call to the ministry should consider advantages of Bi-Vocational or dual career ministries.

  • Some of the students who do consider these advantages,
    will make a calculated intentional choice
    to prepare for and carry a church-related job and a non church job concurrently.

  • If the decision is that God may be leading toward such dual responsibilities,
    • Experience in carrying several different types of responsibilities is valuable.
    • Intentional Bi-Vocational preparation in college
      will mean that the student majors in something which will provide a satisfying, productive, marketable skill.

      Nursing,
      Accounting
      Computer work, for example, would be productive and marketable.

    • One of these might be especially satisfying.
    • All three of these, would have the additional advantage of involving skills complementary to those used primarily in ministry.


  • Intentional Bi-Vocational preparation will usually, though not always, include seminary training.

  • The minister who sees himself as intentionally Bi-Vocational may plan to continue such a life work style throughout his career.

  • He may, on the other hand, commit to preparation in both career fields and be open to either fully supported or Bi-Vocational ministry challenges.


















Expectations of a Bivo Pastor
(or What to Expect)
  • Bi-Vocational Pastors have the same general responsiblities in their pastorates as all other pastors. However, the Bi-Vocational pastor probably focuses specifically on several of these responsibilities and gives priorty to them.
  • What are some of these responsibiblities? Two studies have been done with two groups of Bi-Vocational pastors on how they use their time in a normal week. One study was done with ninety-five Alabama Bi-Vocational pastors. The other was done with 100 Tennessee Bi-Vocational pastors
Areas of Time Management   95 Alabama Bivo Pastors 100 Tennessee Bivo Pastors
Secular Work   37.07 hours per week  
Personal / Family time   10.91 hours per week  
Sermon preparation   06.96 hours per week 05.80 hours per week
Bible Study / Prayer   06.80 hours per week 08.10 hours per week
Leading Church Services   05.23 hours per week 03.60 hours per week
Visitation (Soul Winning)   03.55 hours per week 05.75 hours per week
Visitation (Sick People)   03.11 hours per week 04.00 hours per week
Visitation (propects)   02.32 hours per week
Other Church Activities   02.07 hours per week 01.50 hours per week
Counseling   01.97 hours per week 02.10 hours per week
Church Administration   01.45 hours per week  
Denominatinal Work   00.95 hours per week  
Total Hours church duties   27.61 hours per week 22.75 hours per week
Above total hours exclude Personal / Family Time & Bible Study / Prayer Time

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