I’d love to help.
By tentmaking, we mean earning money to support your ministry from outside your ministry. This could be supplemental income if you already have a ministry income. Or it could completely replace a ministry income and you could derive all of your income outside of your ministry.
Here are 4 steps to begin a tentmaking journey:
1. Determine how much extra income you need
Are you just needing an extra $5,000 each year? Or are you needing part-time income? Or do you need full-time income? This will help you decide what types of tentmaking opportunities to pursue.
2. Determine how much time you have to generate this extra income
Do you only have a few hours available each week or could you spend more time? Depending on the type of ministry you’re in now, you may either have quite a bit of flexibility to pursue tentmaking on the side or you may have very little. Knowing the kind of time you can commit will also help you know what opportunities to pursue.
3. Determine the tentmaking opportunity that best accomplishes these goals
I’ve created several lists of various tentmaking opportunities in past blog posts that I will link here. Each of these posts considers the income you’d like to generate from tentmaking and makes recommendations based on those income goals.
15 Ideas for Level 1 Tentmakers (~$5,000/yr)
15 Ideas for Level 2 Tentmakers (~$20,000/yr)
15 Ideas for Level 3 Tentmakers (~$60,000+/yr)
4. Determine who can coach you toward success
I’m a huge fan of coaching in all aspects of life. Whether that’s health, fitness, business, ministry, athletics, or parenting. Having a coach can help you avoid common mistakes and accomplish your goals far more quickly. I’ve spent so much money over the years on coaching and the ROI I’ve gotten from coaching is immeasurable. Assuming you choose good coaches, it’s almost impossible to “lose” money investing in great coaches. Find a coach who has been successful in the tentmaking opportunity you have chosen & hire them! Take their courses, sign up for their coaching groups, and follow the formula that has led to their success. No need to reinvent the wheel. This is the quickest path to success.
Here’s how I followed the above steps to begin my own tentmaking journey years ago:
1. I knew I wanted to eventually fully replace my ministry income. I wanted to be able to give my salary back to the church and work in ministry free of charge. I knew I needed to pursue a tentmaking opportunity that could lead to this.
2. I didn’t have a lot of time to commit to it because my ministry commitments kept my schedule full. I knew it would have to be something that could easily be built into a business that others could run for me. I really wanted something that I could run in 2-3 hours each week.
3. For me, after much research, I knew that my tentmaking vehicle would be real estate. My wife and I had some real estate experience & we knew it could produce full-time income in the limited time I could devote to it.
4. I found a coach online who had built a real estate business providing him full-time income in a few hours a week. I believed he could help me achieve my goals more quickly than trying to figure it out in my own. His coaching program was just under $5,000, which is a big investment for anyone, especially on a ministry salary. But I felt it was the right fit. He was a believer and he became a friend. He helped me get the right systems, people, and mindset in place to be successful in this business. It wasn’t long before many of my goals were coming to fruition and I began to have the elders start cutting my salary back at the church. And eventually the day came when I gave all of my salary back to the church because my tentmaking income had surpassed it. A dream come true! I tried to measure a few years later my ROI on the $5,000 I spent with my coach. Let’s just say, it was one of the best investments I’ve ever made.
I hope this blog gives you some practical steps on how to get started with a tentmaking journey of your own!
