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Visiting Churches

Reflecting on Church #7: A Bivocational Minister

With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #7.

Churches typically spend the majority of their money (at least half, often quite a bit more) on staff compensation but not this church. The pastor of this church is a bivocational minister.

52 Churches: A Yearlong Journey Encountering God, His Church, and Our Common Faith

That means he has a regular job during the week and serves the church as a volunteer. This means they can direct much more of their money to help others and reach out into the community.

I applaud this bivocational minister. It’s closer to how the early church functioned and follows the model of Paul in the Bible (Acts 20:34).

I wish more churches and church leaders would follow the example of this pastor, Paul, and what I read in the Bible.

[See my reflections about Church #6 and Church #8 or start with Church #1.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

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