Pastoring Part-Time Well: How Women Ministers, Congregations and the Church Embrace a Full-Time Call in a Part-Time Position

“Discerning the call to part-time ministry for ordained women pastors in the PC(USA) and the future of the church. ”

Team Members/Contributors

Susan Rose Diakonos Solutions Contact Me

About this pastoral study project

Equitable part-time ministry is a way for pastors, congregations and presbyteries to live out their shared call to ministry together. Yet, there aren’t consistent guidelines around part-time ministry regarding salary, benefits and structured contracts. There is little advocacy for pastors and congregations seeking a part-time pastoral relationship. In a post-pandemic world, where part-time ministry needs are accelerating at every level of the church, this grant would focus on studying ordained women pastors serving in part-time ministry contexts. The research will survey women nationally in the PC(USA) to ascertain common themes, especially around vocational calling and equity in their part-time position. I would interview women pastors and regional presbytery leaders for more in depth understanding surrounding part-time ministry. The research would spotlight the needs emerging in the post-pandemic church and how to respond to them. The culmination of the research project would be a published report online including the historical, theological and biblical foundations of part-time ministry. Terms such as part-time, bivocational and tentmaking will be defined. Individual resources will be available for the woman pastor, the congregation and the presbytery, including a study guide "Is Part-Time Right for Me?" The goal of this project is to make research and resources readily available for anyone discerning what part-time ministry looks like for their context.