In 2015, more than 38% of pastors in the U.S. were bi-vocational. Almost every church has at least one bi-vocational leader on their team.

Tim Diehl defines a bi-vocational pastor as a person who serves as a pastor in a church and also carries one or more other jobs in order to supplement his or her salary.

While there are some advantages to bi-vocational ministry, one of the biggest challenges is pace. How does a leader work in the marketplace full-time, pastor a church at the same time, and yet have any hope to find space for rest and rejuvenation?

Let’s briefly talk about four work/rest rhythms.

Rhythm 1: Daily

“And then there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” ~ Gen.1:5 – At the very beginning of creation, we are introduced to a daily rhythm of work and rest.

Rhythm 2: Weekly:

This second rhythm has to do with taking a day off each week. We Christians call it Sabbath.

Rhythm 3: Quarterly

Every 90 days, encourage your bi-vocational staff (and yourself if you’re bi-vocational) to get out of their zip code and take a day away or part of a day for relaxation, reflection, recreation, and rest

Rhythm 4: Annual

Learning how to play actually helps us be more productive at work.

If you or your teammates are bi-vocational, you’ll need to get creative with these rhythms, especially the first two.

• Daily – you’ll have to work harder than most to clock out at a reasonable time.
• Weekly – if you’re serving in a bi-vocational capacity, it might be next to impossible to get a full day off every week.

Why this matters: Because you and your bi-vocational team cannot escape the negative consequences of living life out of rhythm for very long. It will catch up to all of you.