That’s simply not true. Tentmaking is not an all or nothing proposition. Some people want to continue getting paid by their ministry but want to generate some extra income from tentmaking for family vacations or other extra costs that might not fit in the budget. Tentmaking allows you to generate additional streams of income & how much you make in tentmaking is really up to you.
2. Tentmaking will take way too much time.
This is also a myth. I generate full-time income through tentmaking and it takes me a few hours each week. From the beginning of my tentmaking journey, I made sure I never spent so much time that I felt distracted from my ministry. I wanted tentmaking to be like a hobby and I only wanted to spend a few hours a week doing it. You can spend more time if you want to generate more income, but you can easily add additional streams of income through tentmaking without spending part-time or full-time hours each week.
3. Tentmaking is too costly to start-up.
Not at all. It really depends on what you do for tentmaking. And there are many options where the startup costs are very low. The startup costs for the forms of tentmaking I’ve pursued were very low. It doesn’t take a lot of money to become a tentmaker. If you don’t have extra money for startup costs, then just choose a tentmaking opportunity that doesn’t require much in startup costs. There are many opportunities like this!
4. Tentmaking income is unstable.
Many people are concerned about having stable, secure income. I’d argue that the most stable, secure income is income you generate yourself. If you consider your job “stable, secure income,” you have to remember that you have an employer and could be released anytime. When you generate your own income, you are the employer. You have much more control over the stability of the income when you are in charge. Tentmaking gives you the opportunity to create even more “stable” income streams.
5. Tentmaking is only for those who can’t get paid full-time by their ministries.
This is a very common myth. Most people assume they’d only do tentmaking if they couldn’t find a full-time job in ministry somewhere. I’d argue that tentmaking is even more important if you have a full-time job in ministry. Multiple streams of income is very wise. If one stream of income is struggling, you have others to make up for it. If you sense the Lord leading you somewhere else, to a ministry that may not pay as much or at all, you’re not as concerned about it because of your other streams of income. When you only have one stream of income, in my opinion, you’re putting your livelihood in a more precarious situation. And you can be tempted to “please people” more so than you would if you had multiple streams of income. I’ve heard many pastors confess to not being as bold in their churches as they should be for fear of the financial implications. Even if you’re getting paid full-time right now, tentmaking could also be very wise for you!
Don’t believe the tentmaking myths! If the Lord is leading you to pursue tentmaking, I’d encourage you to step out in faith and trust him!
