By John Pace
Correspondent
At the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board (MBCB), we know that bivocational pastors in our churches are such a very important part of our convention and the Kingdom of God and we praise God and thank bivocational pastors for their faithful and tireless service.
Based on our best estimate, over 50% of our pastors in Mississippi are now bivocational. In the research and surveys that have been done on bivocational pastors, two of the common struggles they share are developing more effective sermon study and preparation methods and finding the time to do that study in preparation for their sermons.
To express our appreciation for our bivocational pastors and to assist them in this challenging part of their ministry, we are excited to share that MBCB is now engaging in the application process to provide qualifying bivocational pastors in MBCB cooperating churches a base package of the great Bible study and preaching help software resources from Logos Bible Software.
To qualify for this opportunity, the pastor must be an ordained, bivocational pastor of a MBCB cooperating church. For this program, we define a bivocational pastor as “a man who is employed in one or more occupations apart from his paid service as pastor of a local church, where the church does not provide a salary sufficient for him to devote fully funded service to the church field.”
The Logos Bible Software package offered is the Logos 9 Baptist Bronze Program, featuring over 160 Bible study and preaching resources valued at over $6,900. Pastors who qualify for the program must pay $50 out-of-pocket, and the MBCB will pay the balance of the costs which will be approximately $265.
The pastors who receive the package will also need to attend a training seminar (via either Zoom or physical meetings) to learn how to effectively use the Logos Bible Software. The packages will be available to the first 250 qualifying bivocational pastors who apply. Once approved for the program, pastors will be contacted with instructions on paying the $50 fee.
If you meet the requirements as a bivocational pastor of a MBCB church and you want to apply for the Logos Bible Software Program for MBCB Bivocational Pastors, copy and complete the application below and return it via email attachment to jpace@mbcb.org or regular mail to my attention at P.O. Box 530, Jackson, MS 39205-0530.
Your local association mission strategist also has copies of the application available. Make sure to fill out all the requested information and provide the requested signatures. If you have any questions related to this effort or have problems in completing the application, please contact me in the MBCB Leadership Department for assistance. E-mail: jpace@mbcb.org. Telephone: (601) 292-3305.
God bless you for your faithful and dedicated service in your churches and communities, in our state and convention, and in the Kingdom of God.
Pace is director of the Leadership Department at the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board.
