Why East River Is Pursuing a Bivocational Model

East River is something of an experiment in bivocational ministry at scale. We’re not doing this because the Bible demands it, or because I think every church has to do it this way. Scripture and church history show a range of patterns—some pastors fully supported, others working alongside ministry. If a church can pay a pastor full-time, that’s often a good and faithful thing. So why go against the grain here?

Because there are real problems this model helps address:

1. The underpayment of pastors.

Too many pastors scrape by financially. That strain usually shows up first in their marriage and family. And when they get near retirement, many discover they have little savings and no security. The result? Men hang on to senior leadership long after they should have passed the baton, because they can’t afford not to.

2. The succession crisis.

It’s not just the church; across American life, institutions are struggling to raise up the next generation of leaders. At East River, we’re trying to fix that by staggering pastoral ages on purpose. My associate pastor is about 10 years younger than me. The assistant pastor we plan to call next year will be 14 years younger still. That mix brings energy, perspective, and a bench of leaders who aren’t all staring down retirement at once.

3. Fragility in hard times.

The pandemic revealed just how fragile churches can be when life gets disrupted. Most have already forgotten the lesson, but we can’t afford to. Without a plan, we’ll make the same mistakes all over again. A bivocational model makes a church less dependent on the outside world and steadier in times of crisis.

4. Lean beginnings.

When we planted East River, we had nothing in the bank. I didn’t take a dime in those early months. Every dollar went toward essentials like sound, a website, branding, and leasing space. By keeping salaries lean, we invested more in ministry up front and set a pattern of flexibility.

This isn’t about rejecting full-time pastors. It’s about building a church that cares well for its pastors, raises up leaders across generations, endures instability, and stewards resources wisely.

There are other ways to tackle these problems, and bivocational work brings its own challenges. I don’t pretend this is the only faithful or wise approach. But I do believe it’s worth pursuing for East River, and for other churches who may find this path makes sense. My hope is that as we learn, we’ll be able to hand off some tools and models that serve others.