Should people called into ministry (including pastors), work to earn money or not?
Doesn’t the Bible say, “The laborer is worthy of his hire” (Luke 10:7)? But in answering that question, you must ask yourself: who hired you as a pastor?
If you're just starting in ministry and do not have a support system, who hired you?
If a big church or a large congregation hires you as a pastor, then that church will pay your salary. But if you're stepping out without a church, a family, or anyone to support you, what's your support system?
How will you get money?
If you can't find answer to this question, you may end up becoming a nuisance.
I've been in ministry for close to 30 years, and I know what it means to lack financial sufficiency.
Here's the bitter truth: If you don't work to earn money, you'll eventually become a burden.
Worst still, people will even start avoiding you!
I'm speaking from experience. I want to share this message with as many pastors as possible—especially those struggling with finances.
I write you this letter, if you're constantly unable to take care of yourself and your family, all in the name of doing ministry.
If you're a pastor, you have no right to say, “I do not have money because I am not working.”
Why aren't you working? Why don’t you have money? It's a shame to say such a thing.
As a pastor myself, I can relate to this issue.
Now, this message is also meant for those who love pastors, who care about people in ministry, or have someone in their life they are concerned about.
It's not for "pastors haters."
If you take this message and twist it to prove that pastors are fake, it will work against you later.
This is for people who genuinely care about pastors who are truly called of God and want to see them thrive.
If you're a pastor who refuses to earn money and don't have a support system, you'd merely exist, and it'd seem life is squeezing everything out of you.
So, if you claim that God has called you, then He must provide for you.
But if after 5 to 10 years, God hasn't provided a meaningful way for you to survive, something is wrong somewhere.
'Go Preach' Or 'Go Plough?'
That reminds me of a story I heard about a preacher who, after many years in ministry, seemed to have no tangible results.
One day, while discussing with an older minister, he said, "I don’t even know anymore whether God called me or not—I’m confused."
Meanwhile, this same preacher had gone into farming and had become a very successful farmer.
The older minister asked him what he meant, and the preacher explained, "The reason I entered ministry was because of a sign I saw many years ago.
"While I was praying, I seemed to see two letters 'GP' written in the sky and I figured that God was telling me, ‘Go Preach.’"
After many years of struggling in ministry—pastoring without results and failing at other ministry assignments—he began to doubt what he had seen.
Then the older minister looked at him and said, "Have you ever considered that your interpretation of 'GP' may have been wrong?
"Perhaps it didn’t mean 'Go Preach'—maybe it meant 'Go Plough.'”
The older minister continued, "Look at your life—you have become a very successful farmer. Maybe that’s what you were meant to do all along."
Now, this might sound like a humorous side story, but it carries a serious message.
If, after many years of serving God—pastoring or doing missionary work—you are still struggling financially with no results, something is wrong somewhere.
You might need to go back and seek a clearer understanding of what God told you in the beginning.
Many people hide under the guise of being pastors because they are lazy and do not want to do anything.
But I'm a publisher, among many other things that I do.
God has gifted me with skills, and I use the skills to make money.
Many years ago, a young man who had been watching me for a long time finally asked, “Pastor, can I ask you a question?”
I said, “Go ahead.”
He said, “I've been wondering—how come you go about doing jobs of this nature?
He continued, "I ask because many successful pastors that I know don't do these type of jobs.”
He then started citing examples of big pastors who seem to have a lot of money without engaging in business or professional jobs.
I laughed and told him, “Most pastors you think do not work actually have investments. There are things they do that you may not see."
God Is Not Against Gospel Ministers Running Businesses.
If you pastor fewer than 100 members in your church, there would never be a time you wouldn't be under financial pressure.
You'd always feel the need to pressure people into paying tithes and offerings.
That's why you must pray and let God show you what you can do to earn money, so you can be free from financial stress.
Many pastors cannot take care of their wives and children.
And if you ask them why, they say, “I don’t work; I am a pastor.”
Isn't that a shameful thing to hear from a spiritual leader who should be an example to his members?
You say you're a pastor, yet you do not work?
So, what does a pastor do?
Without a doubt, pastoral work is one of the most difficult on earth.
It's real work, and anyone involved in it must be paid.
However, if you don't have a support system, you must find something to do to support yourself.
That's my point.
Leverage the Digital Platforms.
We live in a digital era, and you can do many businesses online today, without leaving home.
That way, you would still have enough time to pray, study the Bible, and for ministry work.
At the same time, you can do online businesses and make good money while fulfilling your calling.
Don't you like to make millions of naira and be free from avoidable financial pressure?
This way, you wouldn't have to depend on anyone for money or to take care of you.
There are many so-called pastors who are nothing but crooks. Those aren't my concerns.
I'm concerned about genuine pastors and other gospel ministers on here.
We’ve come to a point where people don’t know the difference because of bad examples.
But I’m not talking about the bad examples—I’m talking about you.
If you are really called of God, He will give you guidance about what to do to have a decent income, so you never have to depend on the church.
I run businesses and make money. And I know what it means to be financially okay.
When you're not under financial pressure, the number of people in your church makes no difference.
Fluctuating church attendance doesn’t even concern you because you are financially stable.
Don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying you shouldn't be concerned about church growth.
But it shouldn't come with the additional burden of financial stress.
"God Told Me Not To Work."
Many years ago, I knew a lady casually at a particular bank in Ibadan, Oyo State of Nigeria.
She was a cashier at the bank at that time, but the bank is now defunct.
I knew this lady was a believer. She was very nice.
One time, I was almost stranded because I wasn’t with my checkbook. She gave me money and said, "Next time you come, you can do a refund." She was that nice.
This was around 2001, barely a year after my wife and I got married.
At the time, we already had a set of twins—newborn babies to take care of. So, I needed that money badly.
Every time I went to the bank afterward, I always thanked her because she had been so kind.
Now in 2002, my family moved back to Ilorin, Kwara State, and after six years of staying in Ilorin, we moved to Lagos.
I had forgotten I ever knew this lady. I didn’t even know her name for all you care.
She was just a cashier—like any other cashier attending to you at a bank.
One day while driving in Lagos, I received a phone call. The person on the other end of the line happened to be this cashier lady.
She kept describing herself, but for all I cared, I had forgotten about her. She insisted, reminding me, "I was the one who gave you money one time when you came to the bank."
That’s when the picture started forming in my mind.
Then she said she needed to see me urgently.
Thoughts started firing across my mind than a gun could fire bullets.
"How in the world did this lady know my whereabouts?"
"Where did she get my phone number?"
I had changed numbers several times since 2001. Back then, mobile phones were just being introduced to Nigeria.
So I thought, "How did she get my contact in 2007?"
At that time, I didn’t have an office. So, when she called me, we had to arrange to meet somewhere nearby to talk.
When I saw her, I could finally remember her.
Then she started telling her story. She wasn’t looking well. I later learned that she lost her job—maybe a year or two after we had left Ibadan.
The bank where she worked had gone under.
She told me that she got married to a man who said, "God told me you should not work." That man was a pastor.
Before the lady lost her job, she was the one sponsoring everything in the family. Now, with no job, they had nothing.
No food to eat.
No clothes to wear.
The children couldn’t go to school.
Yet, the man kept saying, "God warned me not to work. I should just face the work of the ministry."
Here's my message for many pastors today:
God will never tell you to go into ministry just to become a burden to people.
If you work under a big ministry, but you are underpaid, and they restrict you from doing extra things to support yourself, nothing stops you from resigning from that ministry!
Find another ministry that will either pay you well or allow you to do extra things to support yourself in addition to your salary.
If not, you'd eventually become a burden to people. That’s the truth.
Many people don’t even want to pick up a pastor’s calls these days.
Why?
Because when they see your number, the first thing that comes to their mind is, "This pastor wants to ask me for money. again."
I faced that situation many years ago and discovered that when people say they are with you and would support you, they often don’t.
They laugh at you behind your back. They look down on you. They complain about you.
They don’t want to see you around because they feel you are always coming to beg.
Anywhere your name is mentioned, they think of someone who needs something from them.
Make A Bold Decision Before It's Too Late.
I made up my mind many years ago never to be someone people would avoid because they think I want to beg for money.
I’ve chosen rather, to be a giving pastor.
Most times when I’m invited to preach somewhere, I emphasize that I don’t need any honorarium.
You aren't obligated to pay me.
Except for very close friends of mine who insist, "No, DJ, we have to pay you!"
Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t receive honorarium when you go to preach.
My point is, avoid the embarrassing situation where you have to depend on people for money.
if you’re not financially okay as a pastor or gospel minister, please go out and do something to earn money!
Stop saying, "I’m a pastor; I’m not working." You are meant to earn money.
If you’re not taking care of your family because you claim, "I’m a pastor," you are bringing shame to Christianity.
You must work. You must earn money.
Enough of this, "I’m a pastor, I’m not working, I don’t have money."
So, you don’t expect your wife to depend on you financially?
You don’t expect your children to depend on you for their needs?
That's a shame.
In fact, if you cannot take care of your household, you have no business standing up to teach others.
What exactly are you teaching others?
How can you preach what you are not practicing?
I earn money, and I teach people in my church how to earn money.
In fact, they look up to me to hear what I have to say about making money because they see me doing it myself.
Don't fold your arms and say, "I’m not working."
Now, let me ask you: what do you do for 24 hours?
Read the Bible?
That’s a shame.
Go and do something.
These Are The Best of Times To Earn Multiple Income.
Gone are the days when gospel ministers had to chase secular work at the expense of their ministry.
What's more, gone are the days when employee ministries would demand that, "You can’t work," and then pay you peanuts as a salary.
We now live in the digital era.
And the best news I bring to you is this:
There are so many online businesses you can do without leaving your home.
If you can master these online businesses, your financial struggles will melt away, while you keep fulfilling your ministry.
The truth is, you can start earning so much online that you’ll become the major sponsor of your church's projects.
God can bless you to the point that you have more than enough and never have to depend on anybody.
Then you will preach the truth without looking at people's faces - without being afraid to offend them.
That’s how ministry work should be run.
You Must Lead By Example
If you're employed somewhere and are underpaid, find out how you can start something on your own that will bring in money to support yourself.
Every pastor must be empowered.
Every pastor can become a multimillionaire by working and learning new skills.
You're supposed to be an example to the people you lead.
Pastors should work—not just to support themselves, but to set an example for their congregation.
I'm here to help, if you are ready.
So far, you've seen how important it is to plan your life for a better financial future.
I have a special burden to assist you in starting your online business as a gospel minister.
If you're interested, enrol here for the Legacy Wealth Bootcamp.
I will see you inside.
Peace!
