Bivocational Profile: The Very Involved Volunteer

coaching-cartoon-peerprograms-ubc-caMeet Jack. Jack is a volunteer at Your Community Church…and is involved. Very involved. So involved, he’s often misunderstood to be a full-time staff member. Not like Jack seeks to milk the myth; he’s just really passionate about serving people. Jack is a newly wed and works 30-40 hours a week as an Apple specialist at Best Buy. He has no kids, but dreams of having them, which is partly why he commits 25-30 hours a week as a volunteer in the youth and tech ministry programs. In the rare case, he’s caught up on both work and church, Jack can be found hanging out with senior high youth at the rec center or movie theater.

Challenges:

  • Time management is weak.
  • Tendency to over-exert is high.
  • Little time for family and peers due to heavy workload in church and out.
  • Unbalanced priorities with respect to community overall.

Opportunities:

  • Is able to use IT skills in both spheres.
  • Uses church community as a bridge to bless colleagues at work.
  • Is constant in loving people, allowing non-churched and churched peers to trust his counsel and encouragement.

The challenge is real…and so are the opportunities. Do you fit into this profile? What are some other challenges or opportunities you have encountered? Share in the comments below.

Photo credits: volunteerswmi.org & volunteerweekly.org

New Series: Bivocational Profiles

When we talk about the bivocational, no two stories are alike.

For one thing, we’ve all been unique designed by a masterful Creator, not to mention blessed with a special set  of characters, challenges, and opportunities that paint the framework of our calling.

Perhaps some of you have wondered what your framework looks like or how your story relates to others out there.

If this fits you, well…let’s just say this validates a BIG reason why we’ve created this resource.

So for the next five Sundays, Lyssah & I are going to talk about five bivocational profiles most relevant to our time and place.

What is a bivocational profile? Basically…it’s a category to classify a group of similar stories. True, each story is divinely set apart. But at the same time…many gravitate towards certain “molds”.

So as we discuss these molds the next couple weeks, feel free to share your input and/or story in the comments  below.

As always, we look forward to hearing from you as we learn and grow together.

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Bivocational Profile #1: The Part Time Pastor

church-easter-sunday-01Meet Pastor Joe. Pastor Joe is the pastor at Your Community Church. He preaches, teaches, visits hospitals, marries, buries, and even mows the lawn. Pastor Joe also works 30 something hours a week as a middle school teacher. He has a wife and two kids. In any given week, Pastor Joe is lesson planning and counseling a depressed congregant. He can most likely be found reading Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the book of James while cheering his daughter on at soccer.

And people have the nerve to call him a “part-timer”.

Challenges:

  • Work-life balance is non-existent
  • Tendency to burn the candle at both ends just to keep all his plates spinning
  • Difficulty giving family the attention it needs
  • Occasionally distracted by the responsibility he is not currently working on
  • Living up to “full time” expectations in multiples areas of life

Opportunities:

  • Readily understands the pressures faced by his congregation as a worker in the “real world”
  • Is constantly exposed to new technics and tools in his job that can be used in his ministry
  • Access to non-churched families with opportunities to show Christ’s love…without being perceived as a “pastor with an agenda”

Our hats are off to you Pastor Joe. ‘Cause truth is: you are the furthest thing from “part-time”.

The challenges are real…and so are the opportunities. Do you fit into this profile? What are some other challenges or opportunities you have encountered? Feel free to share in the comments below.

Photo credits: simplydisciple.com & collectionpicture.net