As I approach graduation and head towards ministry in some shape or form, I eventually will be faced with a tough decision. Do I fully invest into my new found calling, walking away from a profitable career in Information Technology or do I remain bi-vocational and manage two jobs at once? Despite what the reality show Preachers of LA portrays as it relates to Pastor’s making a ton of money, the average Pastor’s salary is lower than most think. The average salary for a protestant pastor is often around $40,000 and can be less depending on the size of the congregation.

Some wouldn’t have a problem chasing their calling even if it may not be financially profitable, but what if you have a family, or better yet, what if you have debt or have amassed student loans? There are no doubts about it, living with debt can be incredibly overwhelming. That being said, it is important to remember that if you are struggling with your personal finances, there are plenty of debt relief options out there that can help you to manage your money in a more efficient way. Consequently, you can learn more about some of the most popular debt relief strategies on the CreditAssociates website.

Furthermore, picking our calling may not be an option unless we were really receptive to making a sacrifice as it relates to how we have grown accustomed to living. I ask myself, would I want to give up things like splurging on spiffy vegetarian restaurants or being able to buy the latest running shoe when I wanted to? The underlying question really is, do we want to be a little uncomfortable financially to be extremely comfortable as it relates to our passion, calling, or new career?

Some of us have a hustler’s spirit and we “do what we gotta do.” Some of us are fine working a standard 9 to 5 job for the money and spending time outside of that to pursue our calling. We’ll do this in order to maintain our living situation, but is this giving us enough time to become a master at our calling? It is often said that it takes 10,000 hours to master any skill-set. If we are working at least 80 hours a week in a job that doesn’t give us any skills towards our passion is it really worth it? This can be a tough call and some of us may not be in a position to leave our current job, but if we take a critical look out our situation we may gain more insight on what we may be able to do.

If you are questioning whether to choose diving into your calling, choosing a profitable job or managing both (being bi-vocational) below are some questions that can help you reach a decision:

• What is the minimum amount of money that I need to live?
• How much money do I anticipate making initially at my calling and/or new career?
• Can I tighten my current budget any further and make a sacrifice to pursue my calling in a full-time capacity?
• Can I truly manage multiple jobs and reach my full potential in my calling?
• Will being bi-vocational have a negative effect on my family, relationships, mental, spiritual or physical health?
• Is my current job giving me skills needed in my calling?
• Am I willing to take a pay cut in order to work in my calling?
• If I had to choose 1, what would it be, a high paying job or a job that makes me feel happy and fulfilled?
• Am I willing to work part-time jobs in order to be able to put more time into pursing my calling?
• How long will I pursue my calling and/or passion before I determine that I have made a mistake?
• What is the worst thing that can happen if I pursued my passion or calling fully and it doesn’t pan out financially?
• Who can I speak to or read about that has taken a risk or considered taking a risk similar to mine?

So what would you do? What questions would you add to the above list? Have you taken any career risks? If so, how have they panned out? Share in the comment section below!