Bivocational Ministry = Spiritual Growth in Ministers
Everyone loves unexpected outcomes: from the surprise ending of movies like The Sixth Sense and The Usual Suspects, to the heart-racing twists of spy novels, to the breath-taking thrill of sudden turns in theme park roller coasters, people are often thrilled when things turn out differently than they expected. Bivocational ministry -- like so many other aspects of life -- often leads to an outcome unexpected by those who pursue it.
GOD LOVES UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES
Throughout the Bible, we see that God is in the business of unexpected outcomes: “so those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last,” our Lord Jesus tells his first disciples (Matt. 20:16). The Apostle Paul echoes the Messiah’s words: “God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful” (1 Cor. 1:27). And of course, the end of each Gospel account portrays the greatest unexpected outcome of history. There is one expected outcome of death: the dead person stays dead. But in earth’s greatest surprise ending, “the Spirit of God... raised Jesus from the dead” (Rom. 8:11).
The story does not end there. To finish the verse, that same “Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you” (Rom. 8:11). Christianity affirms that God created each human in the divine image and for God’s glory, uses every circumstance in one’s life to form us, God’s children, increasingly into this image, and guides both our lives and our ministries. While individuals pursue (or perhaps, find themselves in) bivocational ministry for many reasons, it can lead to an unexpected -- but surprisingly common -- result: bivocational ministry often leads to personal spiritual growth within the bivocational minister.
I have personally been in bivocational ministry for over 20 years. My initial motives for pursuing bivocational ministry were primarily logistical (I was first pursuing a degree, then later thought it would save the church plant money). But that decision had unexpected outcomes: I had not considered the missional implications of teaching at a university while planting a church. And over the years God has drawn me closer to him, grown my faith, and changed my view of his church in deep and unexpected ways -- specifically through being bivocational.
COMMON MOTIVES FOR BIVOCATIONAL MINISTRY
From March 1 - April 12 2021, I administered a survey of bivocational ministers (or "covocational" or "tentmaking," etc.), around the motivations and spiritual formation involved with this unique form of ministry. The results of that survey became a chapter in a forthcoming academic work, Bivocational and Beyond, and discovered multiple factors contribute to one’s consideration of bivocational ministry. The three most common were:
Financial motivations (based on personal financial needs and/or the church’s capacity)
Missional motivations (as one survey participant said, “working in [a] high tech industry gives me credibility in the mission field”)
Convictional motivations (regarding money, theology, and/or ministry philosophy)
COMMON OUTCOMES FROM BIVOCATIONAL MINISTRY
Among the motives that led people toward bivocational ministry, one was missing: when responding to a survey question regarding one’s “personal spiritual formation” as a motive for pursuing bivocational ministry, only 10% of participants referenced it as the primary while 62% said that it was not much of a consideration, if a consideration at all. And yet… when asked about bivocational ministry’s influence on ministers’ personal spiritual formation, a consistent theme was that it impacted them in ways they did not expect:
Over 3/4 of respondents indicated that bivocational ministry had “somewhat” or “greatly enhanced [their] view of” a) “God,” b) “God’s care and provision,” c) “Christian community,” and d) their “personal spiritual thriving.”
Over 80% of participants said bivocational ministry had at least “somewhat enhanced” their views of a) “the church,” b) “Christian leadership,” c) their “personal identity in Christ,” and d) their “own sanctification.”
And a full 90% said that bivocational ministry had either “somewhat” or “greatly enhanced” their views of a) “God’s mission” and b) “Jesus as ‘the head of the church’.”
The survey showed a consistent pattern: while “personal spiritual formation” was seldom a motivator in participants’ pursuit of bivocational ministry, it was a common, if unexpected, outcome!
More specifically, three themes emerged from the data, each of which plays a part in bivocational ministers’ spiritual growth. Through bivocational ministry…
…their dependence and humility grew (Per one participant, bivocational ministry “makes me realize that I have limited capability and that I am not my church's savior. [Jesus] is!”)
…their need for a team deepened (87.5% of survey participants noted that “bivocational ministry has greatly or somewhat enhanced their realization of personal limits”)
…their personal sanctification increased. (One response was a literal list of areas of growth: “Work ethic. Marriage. Parenting. Friendships. Money. Purpose. Identity. All these things have been refined by the fire of bivocational ministry in a way that is clarifying because none of them can be overshadowed by ‘success’.”)
“[I’D] NEVER GO BACK”
These themes resonate with my own experience. I have long known that I am gifted in a few areas of ministry -- and very “un-gifted” in many others! Bivocational ministry thus led to humility, which has in turn led to my need for a diversely-gifted team to minister alongside. With everyone thriving in their gifting, and helping shape a local church in their gifts and from multiple perspectives, the church’s ministry is more holistic and stronger. Together, our team points them to Jesus, rather than shaping them into the image of “me.” (That thought, as for any self-reflective minister, makes me shudder!).
The apostle Paul makes the bold claim in the book of Romans: “everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory” (11:36a, italics added). “Everything” necessarily includes bivocational ministry. Bivocational ministry exists for the same reason “everything” exists: “for [God’s] glory… forever! Amen” (11:36). In addition to other ways bivocational ministry glorifies God, it is a pathway to unexpected spiritual growth in the lives of those who pursue it. That spiritual growth, produced by this form of ministry, is summarized by the words of two survey participants: “I went bi-vo mostly out of necessity, but would never go back to anything different,” and “I recommend it to every pastor.”
Adapted from Ben Connelly, “Bivocational Ministry as a Path of Unexpected Spiritual Growth,” Bivocational and Beyond: Educating for Thriving Multivocational Ministry [Atla Open Press, April 2022].
