Your youth pastor just landed a sweet consulting gig. Your worship leader's been fielding speaking requests left and right. And your executive pastor quietly launched a coaching practice last month.
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Sound familiar? It seems like everyone on your church staff has something going on the side these days, and you're left wondering: Is this a healthy development, or is this a problem we need to address?
If you're a church leader grappling with this question, you're not alone. The side hustle phenomenon is quietly reshaping church staffs across the country, and it's time we had an honest conversation about it.
Let's start with the elephant in the sanctuary: most church staff can't live on their church salary alone. That's not an accusation against your church's heart or priorities—that's just math in a lot of places.
The gap between ministry calling and financial reality seems to be getting wider, especially with everything happening in our economy over the past few years. Your staff members are finding creative ways to close that gap, and honestly, can you blame them?
But here's where it gets complicated. Sometimes that side income gradually becomes the main thing. The consulting calls start happening during office hours. The speaking prep takes over the weekend that should be reserved for sermon planning. Their best creative energy flows toward the opportunity that pays better—or at least has the potential to pay better.
Before you know it, your full-time staff member becomes part-time for you too. The church becomes the side hustle rather than the other way around.
"I love ministry, but I can't go to the grocery store with it."
— Anonymous response from our 2024 Church Staff Health Assessment
Now listen—nobody wakes up in the morning wanting to shortchange their church. At least, very few people do. Before we get frustrated with our staff, we need to consider the heart behind the hustle.
These aren't greedy people most of the time. They're gifted leaders trying to use their skills and abilities to pay the bills while staying in ministry. Most of them would choose their church role if the math worked better. But when it doesn't, they figure they have to get creative.
The question isn't whether they should need extra income. The question is how to handle it well when they do.
After working with hundreds of churches and thousands of ministry staff, I've seen what works and what doesn't when it comes to managing this tension. Here's a framework that can help:
First things first: if your church pays competitive salaries, that's fantastic. But if you don't—and many churches struggle with this—you need to be radically honest about that gap.
Don't pretend your salaries are competitive when they're not. I was on a call recently with a church leader who told me, "The days of hiring a youth pastor for $35,000 are over. That ship has sailed." Ten minutes later, when I asked what they planned to pay their next youth pastor, he said "$35,000" and then spent the next ten minutes justifying why someone could "make it work" on that salary in their area.
Address the elephant in the budget. Be honest about what you can and can't provide financially. This transparency creates the foundation for healthy conversations about outside income.
If someone on your team needs outside income, don't just hope it works out. Help them structure it properly. Set clear expectations about availability and focus during church hours. This isn't about being controlling—it's about protecting the ministry hours that belong to the church while acknowledging their financial needs.
Have the conversation upfront rather than letting tension build. Create agreements that protect both the staff member's need for supplemental income and the church's need for focused ministry attention.
Here's where churches vary widely in their approach. Some churches embrace outside opportunities because they provide exposure and skill development. Others prefer their staff to focus exclusively on church responsibilities.
My suggestion? When it makes sense and helps your mission, leverage it. Sometimes their outside work builds skills that benefit their church role. Sometimes it raises their profile in ways that help the church. Don't automatically assume outside opportunities are competition—they might be complementary.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23: "Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible... I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."
Paul's approach shows us that outside engagement can serve kingdom purposes when handled with the right heart and clear priorities.
The staff members who handle outside opportunities well share three characteristics:
The ones who struggle with this balance tend to hide their outside work or minimize its impact. That's when trust breaks down and problems multiply.
Here's your bottom line: Side income isn't the enemy—secret side income is.
When staff members feel they have to pursue outside opportunities "under the table" because the financial gap hasn't been acknowledged or discussed, that's when anxiety builds and trust erodes. The secrecy creates more problems than the side hustle itself ever could.
This week, I challenge you to have the conversation you've been avoiding.
If you're a staff member: Be honest about what you're considering or already doing. Don't let financial pressure push you toward secrecy. Your leadership wants to work with you, but they can't help if they don't know what you're facing.
If you're a senior pastor or supervisor: Ask about the financial pressure your team is feeling. You might discover a bigger gap than you realized. Then work together to find solutions that honor both their calling and their need to provide for their families.
Maybe your church can't pay more right now—that's okay. But there are probably some creative solutions you can explore once everything's on the table. Because here's what we've found in our research: if you don't address that gap, you'll eventually lose good people who simply can't afford to stay where they can't afford to be.
Healthy churches figure this out together. They don't pretend the tension doesn't exist or stick their heads in the sand hoping everything works out. They have honest conversations about financial realities, clear boundaries about time and energy, and creative solutions that honor both ministry calling and family needs.
The goal isn't to eliminate all outside income opportunities—it's to handle them with integrity, transparency, and wisdom. When you do that well, you'll often find that these opportunities actually strengthen your ministry rather than compete with it.
Remember, your staff members didn't enter ministry for the money, but they do need to eat. Work with them to find sustainable solutions, and you'll build a stronger, more trusting team in the process.
What's your experience with staff side hustles? Have you found approaches that work well for your team? I'd love to hear your thoughts and insights. Send them my way at podcast@chemistrystaffing.com.
The churches that thrive in the coming years will be the ones that face these challenges honestly and work creatively to support their staff. Your willingness to have these difficult conversations now will pay dividends in staff loyalty, trust, and effectiveness down the road.