Covocational Church Planting

Keep your job, plant a church

You don’t have to choose between a secular vocation and a sacred calling. Whether you’re a teacher, architect, mechanic, real estate agent, web designer, or business owner, you can use your profession as a missional and financial strategy for church planting.

Join our next live webinar to learn more.

Become a Covocational Church Planter

Your profession can fuel your ministry calling and propel your church planting journey. Planting covocationally can help you:
  • Connect with your community

  • Build credibility with your congregants

  • Achieve financial stability

  • Empower other church leaders

The Future of the Church is Covocational

Thousands more churches need to be planted in the coming years to join God’s activity to expand His kingdom. Covocational planting offers a powerful strategy to accomplish this mission!

You can join the forward-thinking movement of covocational church planting today.

A Covocational Church Planter is one whose primary vocation is in the marketplace, but at the same time, they feel called to start a church. A “covo” planter has a clear calling in the marketplace that they don’t intend to leave. They desire to weave that calling into the plan to plant a church. The prefix “co” is the reduced form of the Latin “com,” which means “together” or to have “in common.” English words like co-founder, co-pilot or co-author are examples of words that denote partnership and equality. Covocation embodies the reality: if a person is called to the marketplace and at the same time is called to start a church, the different callings are not isolated from one another. Instead, they are interlinked and equal.

A Bivocational Church Planter works a second job to supplement the salary the church provides. Historically, the language of “tentmaker” (the Apostle Paul’s trade described in Acts 18) has been used to define this type of church planter. Typically, a bivocational planter has a marketplace job that they view as temporary. They hope the church plant grows enough to provide the financial support to leave their bivocational job to focus full-time on the church.

Get Started

As you process the possibility of planting covocationally, Send Network is here to provide resources and support along the way. Register for our next live webinar to:

  • Icon arrow Unlock benefits of covocational planting
  • Icon arrow Overcome common challenges
  • Icon arrow Learn to build a strategic team
  • Icon arrow Share your journey
  • Register for the webinar

    Sign up for a 50-minute live webinar to learn more about being a covocational church planter.

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Helpful Resources

Stories

A Theology of Work for the Common Good: Your Work Matters

A Theology of Work for the Common Good: Your Work Matters

Work is not merely a means to earn a living—it is a sacred opportunity...

10 Covocational Realities 

10 Covocational Realities 

God is raising up faithful leaders and churches who are embracing simplicity—not out of...

A New Song in Chula Vista: The Herreras’ Journey of Covocational Church Planting

A New Song in Chula Vista: The Herreras’ Journey of Covocational Church Planting

From the beginning, Jonathan and Olympia Herrera made two conscious choices: multiply and remain covocational. Those decisions are shaping a...

Strongman athlete and salesman leverages spheres of influence to plant Colorado church

Strongman athlete and salesman leverages spheres of influence to plant Colorado church

In a city where church skepticism runs deep and transience is the norm, Andrew...

Louisiana natives find unique advantages to covocational church planting in Canada

Louisiana natives find unique advantages to covocational church planting in Canada

Nathan Taylor and his wife, Emily, always imagined serving God together in a gospel-needy...

Cincinnati planter leverages church building as coworking space to fuel ministry

Cincinnati planter leverages church building as coworking space to fuel ministry

Growing up, Austin Mathis didn’t know many pastors who held jobs outside their pastoral...

Partnership with Send Network Amplifies Alberta Church’s Planting Efforts

Partnership with Send Network Amplifies Alberta Church’s Planting Efforts

Filipino International Baptist Church (FIBC) did not always have church planting on their mind....

Garden City Church reaches the community through the marketplace

Garden City Church reaches the community through the marketplace

When Shane and Jessica Booker first considered planting a church in New Orleans, they...

Covocational Planters Trailblaze a New Perspective on Ministry

Covocational Planters Trailblaze a New Perspective on Ministry

While at first it may seem that holding a full-time job could distract from...

‘Pest pastor’ makes home connections

‘Pest pastor’ makes home connections

SPRING HILL, Kan. (BP) — Jay Sloan had a calling so clear, it bugged...

Managing your Time as a Covocational Church Planter

Managing your Time as a Covocational Church Planter

Covocational planters are juggling a lot. Here are a few simple ways to help...

3 Reasons to plant a church bivocationally

3 Reasons to plant a church bivocationally

There is a place for both bivocational planting and fully-funded approaches, but there are...

5 free church planting e-books

5 free church planting e-books

1.ReThink: 9 Paradigm Shifts for Activating the Church By Brad Brisco Every organization, including...

Missional communities and church planting

Missional communities and church planting

When considering pioneering church planting, we often need to think about starting smaller expressions...