Most of the time, when we see the term referring to someone as a “bi-vocational minister” we think of a pastor who pays part of his own bills through a job.

I would like to challenge and question that definition. Greg Buckingham shares in this video about how he freed up a portion of his year-to-year life for missions while still being able to build his company – PRESS HERE FOR VIDEO FROM ISSACHAR INITIATIVE.  Now, I have to clarify something: Greg is an example of what I’m striving for with my business.  Not everyone can do this.  It’s much more doable as a business owner, but, as I’m realizing, it takes time.  I sought to move us up here to my home town and start a local church while still having a relatively new business that still needs plenty of my personal investment down the hill an hour and twenty minutes away.  It’s likely my wife and I will need to move back down the hill, but stories like Greg’s inspire me to keep working on this vision and not to give up.  I am now praying about getting involved in a US-wide ministry, possibly being the local representation here in California, or doing some traveling around the US to help get it going more broadly than even CA.  More on that later, but I wanted to make the connection as to how these stories in this video hit very close to home for me.

Please consider watching this video and being inspired by these stories.

We all have opportunities to live this way in a sense.  I plan to share more and more stories like these but also the ones about much more day-to-day appearing of creative use of one’s talents or interests to glorify God.  Even though my wife and I both own businesses and are pretty passionately living our lives for Christ, there are many aspects of our lives that are plenty normal, day-to-day family and community life.  We run into individuals and families on a regular basis who inspire us with how they serve the Lord with gladness.  Hopefully you’ve seen these highlights on this blog.  I intend to keep highlighting both the louder and more overt stories as well as what seem like “normal lives” where extraordinary ministry is going on in lives that appear normal but in the spiritual are so beautiful and God-honoring.

One of the stories in this video mentions a situation we can all find ourselves in, which is being under the leadership of a pastor/shepherd.  Hopefully all of us are in some way submitted not only to our church elders but to a community of believers, which we typically call a “local church”.  There, in that spiritual home together with believers – not a building but a community of believers – we should experience growing joy in Christ and awe at being loved by such a holy and awesome God that Christ would die to show us God’s love.  In that community, we should stir up deeper affections for God, each other, and for the lost.

Please consider praying together with some other believers in your church about whether you or someone in your body is called to make an extra-ordinary effort to reach an unreached people group with the Gospel, or if you as a church are called to make a special focus for a season on reaching one of these people groups directly or through an existing ministry well-equipped for doing this.  This is a big part of the Great Commission’s initial charge.

We are all part of the second part of the Great Commission.  We make disciples for Christ, but then we baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We raise up those new believers in God’s Word and encouraged them in living lives reflective of this great salvation and this Awesome God’s love for us, His children.

Much love, friends!

– Torrey

P.S. Thanks goes out to Dave Collie, a good friend of mine, for this photo.  Looking beautiful up in them Cali hills!