While most financial advisors would recommend having multiple streams, I’ve found that too often pastors/missionaries don’t pursue this.
Why is that?
I’m sure there are a number of reasons:
- Don’t want to get distracted
- Don’t have time
- Worried about the optics
- Perceived lack of additional skills
I can understand because I’ve been there too.
Then I realized that the reasons to have additional income streams far outweighed the reasons not to have them.
Here are some benefits:
- Supplemental income for your family to make up for low or moderate ministry pay
- Less pressure to stay in a ministry position that’s not a fit
- Follow the Lord where he leads, even if it doesn’t pay much or anything at all
- Interact with more unbelievers outside the church/ministry
- Modeling integrity in the business sector
- Increase in generosity
- Get out of debt sooner
- Save a sizable emergency fund
- Get away with family more often to rejuvenate
- Financial freedom sooner than retirement
Developing multiple streams of income doesn’t mean you have to get another part-time or full-time job.
The way I’ve done it over the years is with various financial hacks that have produced income without lots of extra work. All while continuing to be devoted full-time to ministry.
These current income streams altogether take me less than 5 hours each week:
- Real estate business (Flip Hacking)
- Airbnb income (House Hacking)
- Credit card rewards (Travel Hacking)
- Retail brokerage (Agent Hacking)
- Index funds (Life Hacking)
- Tentmaking Pastors (Knowledge Hacking)
These streams of income fully provide for my family in a way that allows me to still remain devoted to ministry full-time. And it gave me the opportunity a few years ago to give 100% of my salary back to our church to be used for ministry. A dream of mine!
You can develop multiple streams of income in your spare time too!
