So many, in fact, that perhaps you will find it could be preferable to full-time paid ministry in some cases.
Here are 10 advantages (in no particular order):
- Reduces church budget
Especially when you’re planting a church or serving in a small church, the salary of the pastor can be a significant percentage of a budget. And even if you serve in a larger church, the salaries collectively are likely a large percentage of the budget. If you were to remove your salary, or even part of it, that could greatly lessen the strain on the church budget.
- Sets an example of hard work
Paul gave this as a reason for tentmaking when he was working among the Thessalonians (2 Thes 3:7). There was a laziness problem in the church and he wanted to set an example for the church of what it looked like to work hard in order to honor God.
- Not a hindrance in any way to ministry
When Paul was working with the Corinthian church, he didn’t receive pay because he didn’t want to hinder the gospel in any way (1 Cor 9:12). That means there are situations where receiving pay could, in some way, hinder your ministry.
- Greater exposure to the mission field
This is one of the most exciting advantages. You get to work daily among the lost. Anyone who has ever served full-time on a church staff knows how difficult it is to interact with lost people regularly. When you are tentmaking, this is naturally built in every day.
- The joy of doing ministry free of charge
Paul certainly loved the opportunity to preach free of charge (1 Cor 9:18). There’s a special joy in bringing the gospel to people without charging them, since the gospel itself is free of charge.
- Increased boldness in preaching
When you’re not concerned at all about whether what you say could get you in financial trouble, you’ll likely be bolder. Every pastor knows the fear of saying the wrong thing and potentially being released by the church and endangering their livelihood.
- Flexibility to follow the Lord wherever he leads
When you aren’t paid much or at all by a church, it’s easy to leave if the Lord calls you to serve somewhere else, even if that new place doesn’t pay much or at all. When your entire livelihood is tied up at a church, it’s not as easy to move on.
- Multiple streams of income
King Solomon and your financial advisor are both going to tell you that having multiple streams of income is wise (Ecc 11:2,6). That way if one stream falters, the others can carry the load. You aren’t so dependent on any one stream, thereby putting your financial position at risk.
- Lead by example in working while making disciples and planting churches
Since we all want the people in our church to be disciple-makers, it’s very helpful to show them that you can work and make disciples too. It’s easy to assume that pastors can make disciples or plant churches because they are paid full time, but that it’s much harder for someone who works a normal job. Tentmaking puts you in a similar position as your congregation and allows you to show them how to make disciples while working outside the church.
- Prepares your church for the future
The giving trends in the Western church are concerning many people. Some think that in the next few decades, the amount of resources a church has to pay its staff will be greatly reduced. Tentmaking helps you to prepare your church for the future by reducing the amount of money it needs to fulfill its ministry commitments.
The list of advantages could go on and on.
We haven’t been trained to think this way, so the advantages often aren’t apparent to us.
But, after considering them, perhaps it increases your resolve to pursue tentmaking in some capacity.
