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Welcome to Bivocational Ministries
Ministry at the Corner of Main Street and Church Street
We are glad you are here! This site is dedicated to providing resources that will assist bivocational and small church ministers better serve their churches. Whether you are a bivocational minister, a fully-funded pastor of a small church, a lay leader in a smaller church, or a judicatory leader who works with small churches, we believe you will find helpful resources on this site. We especially focus on leadership and ministry tools that will assist those who work with churches and church leaders. (Those of you who serve larger churches will find these resources helpful as well.) I hope you will bookmark this site and return often.
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I became a bivocational pastor in 1981 when I accepted the call to serve Hebron Baptist Church in southeast Indiana. I began that ministry without any ministerial education or pastoral experience. I only knew God had called me to the ministry. I served that church for 20 years while working in a factory for most of that time. During those years I also graduated from a Bible school and earned a bachelor's degree.
In 2001 I became an Area Minister with the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky and remained bivocational even in this role. Two years before I took early retirement from my factory job our family assumed ownership of a small business which I continue to manage. As an Area Minister I have the opportunity to work with churches when they seek new pastoral leadership. More and more of these churches are saying that they are willing to consider a bivocational minister. They have seen the successful ministries of many of our bivocational colleagues, and they now understand that this is not a second-class ministry. In fact, for many of these churches becoming bivocational could be the best choice they could make.
In the spring of 2006 I earned my Master of Arts in Religion with a concentration in leadership and then enrolled in a Doctor of Ministry program which I completed in May 2010. My DMin thesis was "Coaching Bivocational Ministers for Greater Ministerial Effectiveness."
The frustration I felt as a bivocational pastor was the lack of resources developed specifically for us. That is why I have written four books specifically for bivocational pastors and the small churches we often serve. I am committed to providing resources and encouragement for bivocational ministers and the churches they serve. Along with this website we also offer a monthly e-newsletter that is free to anyone who requests to receive it. We only need your request and your e-mail address, and you can be certain that we will never sell our addresses to anyone. About a year ago I became involved in coaching and started coaching bivocational ministers. We now offer a blog to help bivocational ministers have a place to share their thoughts with one another. It's a great place to discuss with other bivocational ministers the joys and frustrations you feel in this ministry.
We also want to provide you with the information you need to excel in the ministry God has called you to. Let us know the topics that would be most helpful to you. Ask the questions that are troubling you. Help us help you in this exciting ministry God has given you.
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Speaking Engagements for 2012
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I am now booking speaking engagements for 2012 and already have a number of dates confirmed. If you would like someone to speak to your bivocational and small church leaders why not contact me before scheduling your next event? I do both keynote speeches and lead various workshops and conferences that are designed to encourage the leaders of your smaller churches and give them the tools they need to be more effective in their ministries. I offer a number of training events that can be presented in two hour, half-day, or all day formats. My most popular training events are
The Healthy Small Church
Bivocational Ministry for the 21st Century
Transforming the Small Church from Maintenance-Minded to Missional
Easing the Stresses of Ministry
Coaching Bivocational Ministers
Church Hospitality: A Key To Reaching Your Community
Here is part of an e-mail I recently received following a presentation on "The Healthy Small Church."
Dennis
It was great to finally meet you last night at the Bivocational Leader Lab in Bessemer. God definately has His hand upon your ministry. Thank you for faithfully following wherever He leads.
The trip home last night our van was buzzing with conversations sparked by ideas you shared. - Tommy S, bivocational pastor from Alabama
Because of my regular ministry I am limited in the number of events I can do each year so I encourage you to contact me soon if you are interested in any of these topics.
My next event will be on March 4, 2012. I will be speaking to Wesleyan bivocational pastors in Ohio on "The Healthy Small Church. On April 21 I will be with the American Baptist Churches of West Virginia leading a workshop on "Transforming the Small Church From Maintenance-Minded to Missional." I will be speaking at the Indiana Nazarene Pastor's Conference on August 11. There are some other workshops pending for this year, but they are not yet confirmed. I can still accept a few other workshops this year if your church or judicatory is interested.
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Free Monthly Newsletter Now Available
Would you like to receive a free monthly e-mail newsletter that focuses on bivocational ministry? All you have to do to receive this is to send us your e-mail address with your request to begin receiving the newsletter. Your address will not be sold or given to other people. Let us know what information you would like for us to cover in the newsletter, and tell us a little about yourself if you wish. I look forward to hearing from you.
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Check Out My Blog
I have a blog at http://bivocationalministry.blogspot.com that is updated regularly with information that I hope the readers find helpful. It gives you an opportunity to respond with your own thoughts and comments. It is my hope that this blog will become a community for bivocational ministers and small church leaders to share with one another. How helpful would it be for each of us to be able to learn what has worked and not worked for others who have the same call of God on their lives as we do? Several people have joined as friends of the blog, and I hope you will decide to do so as well. We can never have too many friends in the ministry! Bookmark the blog and check it out regularly.
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I am now on Facebook and Twitter. Check out my Facebook page and sign up as a friend. On Twitter you can check out my tweets @DennisBickers. I hope you'll follow me on both sites.
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This website was last updated on February 4, 2012. Please let us know of articles or information that you would like to see included on this site. Thank you.
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