Brad Brisco on covocational church leadership

Church attendance in the West is on the decline. 

I think any church interested in having a future needs to do some serious reflecting on what may need to change.

And I’m pretty convinced there’s a big gap to be filled for people who still desire a faith community, but aren’t looking to return what they may have left for good reasons.

So...what kind of churches could fill that gap?

At least one component of that conversation is about the moolah. How to resource and staff churches in a changing world.

Sustaining the budget of a church with full-time staffing expenses isn’t cheap. (and perhaps for some of us the business oriented nature of church is part of what we wanted to leave behind.)

At the same time, coordinating and organising any kind of community does take time, effort and resources. And I still think there’s an important role for pastors and ministers of all kinds.

I’ve been trying to live in the tension of these questions for many years now.

For several years I’ve personally been bi-vocational. Working a day or two in paid ministry and a few days in other spaces.

A few years ago I read a book by Brad Brisco that introduced me to a concept I liked even more than BiVo. The book was called 'Covocational Church Planting', and in this week's podcast episode you'll hear why covocational can be a more holistic approach. I am delighted to have Brad join me on this episode for a chat about the future of the church and how CoVocational staffing may play a role in that. More broadly we discuss how the shape and structure of church is interwoven with what we believe about God and the purpose of the church.

Brad has spent many years navigating these questions, and I think has some great wisdom to offer.


During the conversation Brad mentions some resources around the ‘five-fold/APEST’ gifts. You can check them out here in blog or video form:

https://www.missionalchurchnetwork.com/blog/the-importance-of-5-fold-apest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RUUzOf8TPg

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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