10 Ways Pastors Can Earn Extra Money Using Their Pastoral Skills - Part 2

More Than a Pastor Show Episode 5: "10 Ways Pastors Can Earn Extra Money Using Their Pastoral Skills - Part 2"

This is the second half of a two-part series on 10 great ways for pastors to make extra money doing what they already do as a pastor. In my previous episode, 10 Ways Pastors Can Earn Extra Money Using Their Pastoral Skills - Part 1, I detailed the first five ways, including:

1. Funeral Services
2. Weddings
3. Counseling
4. Coaching
5. Spiritual Direction

Today in this episode I'll share 5 more great ways for pastors to create multiple streams of income..

Before we dive in...If you're looking to launch a business or side hustle, be sure to download my FREE guide: "4 Keys to Success in Starting Your Business or Side Hustle, and discover four key issues that every pastor needs to consider BEFORE launching a business."

Quotation for the Day: Beth Conny

Our quotation of the day comes from author Beth Conny:

"If you don't take control of your life, don't complain when others do."

I think this is a very interesting quote that has a lot of truth in it for pastors, but I’d like to share a disclaimer first.

Can we just agree for a moment that we’re not talking here about us taking control of our lives vs. letting God have his control over our lives?

Instead, let’s look at it from the perspective of the areas of our lives that God invites us to have dominion or stewardship over. Like how we do our work. Earn our living. How we live our lives. How we pursue our goals and dreams.

You know, in any given situation, we have choices...and, there are basically two responses: proactive and reactive. 

Reactive is working after the fact, dealing with the situation that has already happened. Proactive is working on the front-end to guide and shape things before or as they happen.

Reactive is letting things happen TO you. Proactive is making things happen FOR you.

I remember several defining moments in my life when I complained about situations I found myself in, and felt completely frustrated and helpless regarding the places where I felt stuck...

Only to realize later that the way in which I responded to these situations was totally of my own making. I was allowing myself to get stuck there. I was allowing myself to be overwhelmed by thinking that if I couldn't make a major change to this huge situation, there wasn't any use in making any change at all.

In reality, there were things I could do...small steps I could take...to improve the situation and "take control" of the things that I could control.

Complaining didn't help. Empowering myself to take the action that I could take...that made the difference.

If you find yourself feeling stuck right now, ask yourself this question: If I could only do one thing this week to help change this situation or circumstance, what would it be?

Then next week, what’s one more thing...and the week after that...what’s one more thing? In a month, you will have taken 4 significant steps forward!

When it comes to a big problem, we tend to feel that we have to find one big solution. But in reality, it’s often dozens of little solutions, with time and repetition, that work together in creating the big solutions that we seek. 

Q&A with Rich Avery

In today's Q&A segment I explain my love for butter and popcorn! And how my life-long love affair with popcorn led to a side hustle that became an expensive lesson in what kind of side hustle is not right for me!

If you've got a question for Rich, or a topic you'd like to see covered on the show, send your request to [email protected]. I'd love to answer your question on a future show.

Also, I’d like to thank a listener named Heath for dropping me a line earlier this week. I enjoyed learning about his new side business he’s building. And I was really struck by something he said:

“If more pastors had great side hustles, we could transform the American church.”

Heath, thanks for listening, and thanks for your encouragement and support of the show. I totally agree with you. I believe a cultural and economic tidal wave is heading to the American church. And pastors, now’s the time for you and your church to be proactive and begin to prepare.

That’s why I’ve made it my mission to help 1,000 pastors in the next 5 years to build and grow their own side hustle or business to supplement or replace their pastoral income. 

How would you like to be one of them? Let’s take the next step and have you download my free 7-page Personal Clarity GPS. It’s the free resource we’re featuring today.

You know what a GPS is on your phone right? You tell it where you are...and where you want to go...and it maps out the best options to get there. 

Well, the personal clarity GPS does the same thing for your life.

It helps you get crystal clear on where you’re at today in your life and work...what are your hopes and dreams for the future... the passions that really fire you up...and your skills and past experiences...Once you get clear on those things, your best and most compatible income opportunities begin to appear.

The Personal Clarity GPS is a free download. Get your copy today at morethanapastor.com/gps.

10 Ways Pastors Can Earn Extra Money Using Their Ministry Skills (Ways 6-10)

In our feature segment today, let's look at five more ways that pastors can earn extra money doing what we already do as a pastor.

6. Chaplaincy

When I think of a chaplain, the first thing that comes to mind is someone serving as a military or hospital chaplain. Maybe that’s how you think too. 

But today there are lots of other places where chaplains are needed, and some could be great opportunities for pastors to earn extra money, including:

• Christian schools
• Sports teams
• Corporations 
• Police/Fire Departments
• Nursing homes 
• Community crisis response

7. Public Speaking

It’s no surprise to think that pastors, who get paid to preach, teach, and tell stories in church, could earn extra money through public speaking. 

You don’t have to be famous like Brenda Salter McNeil, John Maxwell, Beth Moore, Andy Stanley, or Steven Furtick to get invited to speak.

What you DO need is a compelling message or story that impacts people’s lives. Event planners call that a “signature talk.” And I believe every pastor has a message or story like that, deep down inside them. You just may need help in getting that message out.

Here are 9 ways pastors can get paid to speak:

1. Church Special Events – Speak at another church’s missions conference, evangelism training event, small group kick-off, leadership development event, etc.
2. Bible & Missionary Conferences – Speak at one of the many Bible and Missionary conference grounds across the U.S. and Canada...and maybe get a free family vacation too!
3. Summer Camps – Children and youth pastors in particular are in-demand as speakers at summer camps
4. Retreats – Hundreds of retreats are held across the U.S. and Canada each year, requiring pastors who can speak on various topics from leadership, spiritual renewal, writing, missions, ministry enrichment and renewal, pastor sabbaticals, etc.
5. Civic Organizations – There are thousands of civic groups, organizations, and societies that need special speakers for their monthly, quarterly, or annual events
6. Create Your Own Event – Consider creating your own event geared toward your area of ministry, whether that's preaching, missions, children's, youth, small groups, etc.
7. Radio Shows – Radio stations often have empty time slots they are looking to fill during overnights and weekends - you could launch your own radio show and find advertisers to pay for it, or create your own daily 90-second or 3-minute feature spot, and sell ads for that
8. Podcasting – Launch your own podcast and sell advertising or sponsorships
9. YouTube – Launch your own online show and sell advertising or sponsorships

8. Mentoring/Consulting

Mentoring (you might call it discipling) is one of the cornerstones of the church and the Christian life. There are plenty of “Timothys” out there looking for “Pauls” to help them grow as disciples, pastors, and leaders. 

While pastors are always on the look-out for free help...You ARE reading this free list of money making ideas, after all!...there comes a time when we’re willing to pay for mentoring.

Young pastors, fresh out of seminary, are often hungry and desperate for real-world church experience to help them grow and mature as pastors and leaders.

Seasoned pastors are looking for ways to free up their time, earn more money, and make their life and ministry more purposeful.

And sadly, some of us will come to the point where we’re forced to pay someone to help us recover from burnout, heal after a let-down or firing, or seek restoration after a moral failure.

Here are 8 ways pastors can make money as a mentor or consultant:

1. Internship/Residency – Create an intern or residency program where young pastors pay to shadow you for 6 months or a year or more
2. Mastermind Group – Create your own mastermind cohort for pastors in your community, or area of passion/interest
3. Building Campaigns/fundraising – Show other churches how to raise money for ministry
4. Evangelism/Outreach Campaigns – Show other churches how to engage their community in meaningful ways
5. Sabbatical planning – Help pastors design, fund, and prepare for a much-needed sabbatical
6. Pastor Spouses – Launch a group to counsel and encourage ministry spouses
7. Retirement planning – If you’re at or near retirement age, share what you’ve learned to help other pastors prepare for their retirement
8. Healing & restoration – Walk alongside pastors who are dealing with brokenness, bitterness, addiction, etc., and help restore them to wholeness

9. Writing

It’s not a big stretch for pastors to make extra money by writing. Most of us are writers by default, anyway, whether we realize it or not, simply by writing sermon outlines, writing out our sermons, or by keeping a journal.

Not to mention all the writing we did in college and seminary or through other ministerial training!

Making extra money by writing is easier to do than ever before. Here are some ideas:

1. Start a blog and write about your journey, experience, or learnings as a pastor
2. Write stories or articles for your local newspaper
3. Write for your denominational magazine, newsletter, or website
4. Write for other Christian magazines or web sites
5. Repurpose a sermon series into a book or e-book (self-publish or work with a traditional publisher)
6. Write a book based on your “signature talk” concept mentioned previously in the “Speaking” section
7. Write devotionals or your own devotional book
8. Write curriculum
9. Write songs
10. Ghostwrite or research stories, articles, curriculum, or books for other authors (I know a couple of pastors who have ghostwritten for some very famous Christian authors)

If you dream of being a published author someday, starting with a blog is a great way to gain an audience and grow your influence. And it can lead to speaking, coaching, and publishing books and other opportunities.  

10. Online Business

Can pastors make money online? Absolutely! Can you make money online doing any of the previous extra money ideas I’ve already shared? Yes! Though some ideas lend themselves more easily to online business than others.

For example, you can easily promote your funeral or wedding officiating services online, but you may not actually DO them online. Then again…the pandemic of 2020 has forced pastors into doing ministry in ways we hadn't considered before.

But you could definitely deliver your services as a counselor, spiritual director, coach, mentor, chaplain, speaker or writer totally online if you wanted to.

8 ways pastors can make money online:

1. Decide on your niche and develop your online platform via your blog or website
2. Share content via your blog, podcast, or YouTube videos
3. Write an e-book and sell it on Amazon
4. Offer group counseling, coaching, or mentoring via private Facebook groups
5. Offer one-on-one counseling, coaching or mentoring via Zoom or Skype
6. Self-publish your own book
7. Create digital courses to sell on your website
8. Get booked as a speaker at events, and sell your book and online courses

While I’m sharing these ideas as a list, you don’t have to think of them in a linear way. 

Think of them more in a circular way, where one feeds off another, and you can start with any one of those ideas and develop the others off of it over time.

There you have it! Over the last two episodes...Ten great ways to earn extra income or full-time income using the skills you already have as a pastor. 

They’re not all for everybody. But I hope this has opened your eyes to the ways you could transfer your pastoral skills into extra income and even a full time business. Which ones are right for you?  It all depends on your goals, dreams, struggles, passions, and experience. 

If you’d like my help in figuring that all out, be sure to download my free action guide, the Personal Clarity GPS, over at morethanapastor.com/gps.

Join My Private Online Community?

I've created a private Facebook group called the More Than a Pastor Online Community. I'd love for you to click the link to join and be one of the 1,000 pastors we're helping over the next five years to reimagine your calling and create the life, impact, and income you were made for! 

Coming Up on The Next Show

We'll explore the biggest thing holding you back from achieving your goals and dreams, and living the life you were made for. It's probably not what you think!

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