The Future of Jobs in Ministry

Let’s all be honest, being in ministry these days has been exhausting. Not only are you preparing to teach and lead in front of a live audience but you also have to figure out what a live stream, that’s pre-recorded, looks like. For a worship pastor, you have to organize, sometimes, two groups of people to lead for both services – live and online. It’s almost like having two full time jobs or even leading and teaching for two different churches.

We’re all in ministry for the same reason and that’s to make heaven full but how we’re doing it, looks a bit different these days. As we gear up for what the future of ministry looks like, you need to be prepared for how things might change. Here are a few things to consider: 

#1 Online

For some churches, online church has been something that they’ve had to learn and figure out very quickly. For others, they’ve been doing online streaming for quite some time. Either way, no matter the size, style or denomination, we’ve had to up our game when it comes to our churches being able to be viewed online. So how does this affect us in the future? If you haven’t given serious thought to doing this long term, you should. This idea of online church isn’t going anywhere – it’s here to stay. Despite what some people say though, it’s actually a good thing. This is essentially the front door to your church. A lot of people will stop by your website or social media channels to browse to find out who you are and what you bring to the table. Having an online presence is essential if you want to get noticed. 

#2 Remote

Working remotely is something a lot of churches are going to be doing more of in the future. The reason? Cost. To keep the building open Monday through Friday cost money, right? We don’t think about the cost of electric, water and waste to keep a building open. By having staff stay home during COVID-19, we’ve seen how we can save money by having staff work remotely. In the long run, we’ve actually heard that most people seem to be more productive in a remote setting anyway. All this to say that a lot of churches will still have staff working at the church in some capacity but most will probably do more remote work instead of physically being at the church. The church staff will still be able to fulfill the churches vision and mission, they’re just doing it in a different way!

#3 Freelancing

Typically, a church will have someone in the office that does all of their communication – social media, videos, graphics, etc. This person is sometimes a paid full time staff member. That may change in the future. Again, the reason I feel has a lot to do with cost. Why not consider having someone freelance to do all of this work? You wouldn’t have to pay salary, benefits and up-keep of space to keep a person on staff. This isn’t a position where a staff member is seen or has a responsibility for being on stage weekly. This is a position that’s typically behind the scenes. In the future, churches can outsource this work for less money than what they’re currently paying someone. In a lot of situations, you can sometimes get better quality for less money. Some churches already do this and have found huge success with it!

The future certainly looks different for people working in ministry. If you haven’t started to see some of these changes already, you’re bound to see them in the coming months. The important thing to remember is that these changes aren’t bad – they’re just different. Keep an open mind as your churches are making changes. In a lot of cases, they better the church and allow us to fulfill our mission of making heaven full – what’s not to like about that?

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