Though I grew up in a city, the Lord moved me to rural Vermont in 1993 to minister in small valley towns and mountain villages. I have had to adjust my thinking in many areas in order to relate to a more rural culture.
One of the first challenges I had to overcome was the concept that all "good" pastors are fully funded by their congregations and have the luxury of only serving the church as their vocation. I quickly realized that ministry in a rural area was most often going to be a bivocational experience.
I realized that just because a pastor had to be bivocational did not mean he had to be a second-class pastor. He could be just as trained and just as talented as his more urban peers. I even wrote a book to help provide some of that training. As I have promoted the book across the nation in a variety of venues, I have come to the realization that my thinking needs to be adjusted once again.
It has become obvious to me in the past 12 months that bivocational ministry is not just a rural issue. There are many small churches in urban areas that are also served capably by bivocational pastors. This might surprise some people because urban areas typically have better jobs and more financial resources than rural areas. Since this is the case, why would urban pastors need to be bivocational?
To read more, click here.
Related article: What God Expects a Pastor to Do
Check out Terry Dorsett's Bivocational Blog.
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