Tentmaking Tips

I wrote in a newsletter a few years ago about possibilities for health insurance as a tentmaker. You can read that here.

If you’re a tentmaking pastor, it can feel like you’re constantly split in two.

Work over here. Ministry over there.

Always slightly behind in both.

But what if that’s the wrong way to see it?

You’re not doing two jobs.

You’re living one calling in two places.

Your workplace isn’t a distraction from ministry.

It’s part of it.

The conversations.

The integrity.

The quiet influence.

The relationships that take years, not weeks.

Yes, it requires wisdom.

Yes, it requires boundaries.

But it also creates opportunities that full-time ministry never will.

So instead of asking, “How do I manage both?”

Start asking, “What is God doing in each space?”

That shift makes a huge difference.

You’re not divided.

You’re deployed!

Standing with you

Simon 

I want to tell you about Abi.

She and her husband planted a church in the North of England.

At the same time, she was:

Raising kids

Working multiple jobs

Leading and serving people week in, week out

So like a lot of tentmaking leaders…

She was giving out a lot… but not building anything that could sustain her.

She had experience.

She had calling.

But no clear pathway to turn that into something scalable.

No structured offer.

No consistent income.

Just a quiet sense of:

“I feel like I should be doing something with what I know…”

Maybe you’ve felt that too.

Here’s what changed.

Abi didn’t try to build a big business.

She didn’t quit anything.

She just focused on three simple things:

• Turn her experience into something teachable
• Get her first paying clients
• Prove this could actually work

That’s it.

So we kept it simple.

She built a small pilot coaching programme for women leading in Christian ministry.

Launched it.

And signed 10 people at $300.

From zero to ...

If you haven’t read the first newsletter in this series, you can read it here.

My wife and I just returned from a couple’s trip to the Cayman Islands (the picture above is from our balcony).

If you are a tentmaking pastor, you will never be as “available” as someone paid full time by the church.

Good.

That is not a weakness to hide. It is a leadership advantage if you handle it properly.

Here is how.

1. Clear the Guilt First

Most bi vocational leaders are not exhausted because of workload. They are exhausted because of internal pressure.

You feel:

I should answer that message immediately

I should attend every event

I should always be reachable

A real pastor would be more present

That thinking will crush you.

Look at the apostle Paul. Never as available as people wanted him to be. No zoom. No mobile. Often in another nation. Always on the move. Yet he achieved far more than many of us with all the tech support!

Availability is not the same as faithfulness.

If your church depends on you being constantly accessible, you do not have a healthy church. You have dependency.

Clear the guilt. Replace it with conviction:

I am called to shepherd

I am not called to be...

Every pastor thinking about tentmaking faces this tension:

“What if this works?”

“What if this distracts me?”

“What if this fails and wastes time?”

So most do nothing. Or worse - they leap without testing and create chaos at home and church.

Neither is wise. Paul didn’t abandon ministry to try tentmaking. He worked with what was in front of him. That’s the pattern.

Step 1: Start With Skills You Already Have

Before you explore something shiny, ask: What do people already ask me for help with? What do I do naturally well? What have I been paid for before?

Testing works best when you build from skills you already have.

If you’ve never renovated anything, house flipping isn’t your first experiment. If you’ve never coached anyone, launching a course tomorrow isn’t wise.

Start from existing strength.

Step 2: Reduce the Risk Window

Never test in a way that:

• Puts your family finances under strain
• Damages your credibility
• Forces you into stresssful decisions

Instead, define ...

In the last newsletter I shared 3 lessons I learned on my tentmaking journey over the past 8.5 years.

If you haven’t read that newsletter, you can read it first here.

I started my real estate company in August of 2017 and began a tentmaking journey that continues to this day.

One of the things I see happen every year is this:

People start the year with good intentions to earn additional income … but without a plan or with a bad plan. I know because I did it myself for many years.

Last week we talked about why vague resolutions don’t change anything and how direction beats willpower when it comes to your tentmaking goals.

So let’s take the next step:

How do you move from “I want to” to “I’m doing it”?

Because intentions without implementation are just wishes.

✅ 1. Clarify Your Income Target

Tentmaking isn’t one-size-fits-all.

Ask yourself:

• Do I just need a little extra each month?
• Am I aiming for a significant part-time income?
• Or do I want to fully replace my salary?

Knowing how much you actually need changes what you pursue and how you pursue it.

Write it down. Be specific.

✅ 2. Choose the Right Strategy (Not Just the Most Popular One)

There are dozens of ways to build tentmaking income - from house hacking and real estate to online ...