Let me expand on my previous post a little further:
I believe that one of the most significant issues today impacting worship services across the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is the lack of support and training offered to co-vocational or part-time worship leadership. Due to the steady decline in financial giving and the plateaued growth in many congregations, this phenomenon will most likely only continue to grow as congregations are having to cut costs across the board. This is especially true of mid-size churches that can afford a full-time Senior Pastor but cannot afford full-time secondary staff, such as the Worship Pastor. Although this phenomenon is a reality for churches of all sizes. LaRochelle reports in Part-Time Pastor, Full-Time Church, “The reality is that congregations generally have limited resources and, because of the limitations within which they have to live, are forced to make decisions about how best to formulate a staff so as to meet the real needs of the local church.”
My own research suggests that many part-time or co-vocational Worship Pastors feel overlooked or underserved by the SBC. There is an attitude among many in the Christian post-secondary institutions (especially the institutions supported by the SBC) that co-vocational employment is somehow less than. Even when I went through seminary and into my doctorate, it was expected that we would all land full-time positions as soon as we graduated seminary. The reality is very different for many ministers.
The phenomenon of co-vocational church leadership needs to be reassessed by many in leadership, both in the SBC and in parachurch organizations. Christopher Hagen writes, “Forecasts of total membership, amount of giving, worship attendance, and so on are that of decline for mainline Protestant churches.” This decline is not expected to change any time soon, so the church must adapt. Rudy Gray writes, “Even though accurate data is unavailable, it is still obvious to many Southern Baptist leaders that co-vocational ministry makes up 50 percent or more of our total profile — and it is growing.” The Church, as a whole, needs to reassess how we treat and support co-vocational Worship Pastors.
Unfortunately, through my research I have discovered that many co-vocational or part-time worship pastors feel alone and abandoned by the denomination that is known by its cooperation to support so many. The few part-time worship leaders that are fortunate to be educated or trained in their calling are often outnumbered by the nurses, teachers, mechanics, college students and retirees that are called upon by their congregation to help out on Sundays in the worship team. Many of these congregations cannot afford to send these servants back to be trained in worship leadership. There are very few affordable post-secondary programs available to them. Even the music conferences or training events often require these co-vocational servants to miss their “day job” to attend.
So, what is the answer? Mentoring. There are so many larger congregations in the Southern Baptist Convention that employ trained and educated worship leaders. We need to stop viewing other congregations as competition. We need to understand that cooperation is the key to the gospel. Those that are fortunate enough to have the training and education need to share their resources. This could be easily facilitated by an organized, denominationally-driven mentor program.
There are precedents set by other denominations that foster the building of mentoring relationships within and outside the denominational lines. The Leadership Program for Musicians is one such program established by the Episcopal Church’s General Convention. Rideout explains in the American Organist,
The LPM program was designed for those who (1) had not yet had the opportunity to develop their musical skills through long-term education or continuing education, (2) might have studied music in a college environment but did not study how to plan and lead worship or how to select hymns and service music, (3) were members of other denominations yet served in Episcopal congregations and needed to know more specific information, (4) were young musicians with potential for church-music leadership, and (5) desired positive
professional relationships with other musicians and clergy.
Building such a program within the Southern Baptist Convention would be an easy means of providing many underserved worship leaders with the cost-effective and timely tools they need to be better prepared for their ministry. However, as mentioned at the beginning of this dissertation, that idea is simply not on the radar of the Southern Baptist Convention, other denominations have already put mentoring strategies into place. In order to see a lasting monumental change, the denomination must make mentoring and training the part-time worship leader a priority.
Sources and Further Reading
Hagen, Christopher E. “The Low-Cost Church.” The Clergy Journal 76, no. 2 (Nov, 1999): 17, http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/230525947?accountid=12085.
Rudy Gray, “Is Bivocational Ministry the New Normal?,” The Baptist Courier (November 6,2016), https://baptistcourier.com/2016/11/bivocational-ministry-new-normal/.
Rideout, “Value Added: The Leadership Program for Musicians,” 42.
Earnest Worship 
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