330. Youth Pastor Part-time Transition

Pastor Anthony has been serving as a half-time pastor, but will become part-time as of this week. He has secured a full-time job in a marketplace and started his work at the end of last month.

It may seem like a sudden change, but Pastor Anthony shared that he has always imagined himself serving as a bi-vocational pastor when he felt called, to minister flexibly based on the church’s needs. That is why he always had a part-time job. In the past 2 years, he had to increase his time in church ministry as he was pursuing ordination. But as his family situation changed, and a good opportunity for full time arose, so he decided to transition into a part-time ministry role indefinitely.

What I am thankful is he is still clear about his ministry calling, and he will continue to serve youth ministry without any change. What will change is, he will let go of “media director” role and his preaching frequency will be reduced from 20 to 10 times a year. To maintain his pastoral identity while working full-time outside the church, he has agreed to lead two main sacraments, which are communion and baptism (for youth) regularly.

Many youth pastors quit ministry mainly due to financial reason, despite they still feel called into ministry. It is unfortunate that our church is unable to pay a full-time salary that can support a pastor’s living. But we are thankful that Pastor Anthony decided to work full-time outside church because he wants to minister in our church flexibly and continually. He also feels that working in the marketplace will give him a greater appreciation and understanding of lay people, which will be helpful for his leadership in the future.

Every transition is a crisis but also an opportunity. Please pray that Pastor Anthony will thrive in his new role outside the church while continuing to strengthen his pastoral identity.