Could the future of the church be co-vocational?
Dr. Jason Mills
Dr. Jason Mills serves as Dean of the Seminary and Assistant Professor of Spiritual Theology at Briercrest College and Seminary in Caronport, SK. He is also part of the Co-Vocational Canada leadership team, a project seeking to support co-vocational pastors, churches, and co-vocational friendly denominations.
His current research focuses on the origins of paid pastoral work in the New Testament and early church. His findings are due to be published in a book tentatively titled: Funding Preachers in the New Testament, set to be released by IVP Academic in early 2027. Mills’s other book, Glassroom Learning: Virtual Culture and Online Pastoral Education (2023), addresses the challenge of virtue formation in web-based pastoral programs. He’s been a pastor, a chaplain, and he is married to his best friend, Erika. Together they have three wonderful children: a daughter, a son, and a son-in-law.
Learn more at jasonmills.ca
Morning Session
(recording will be available following the event)
Afternoon Session
(recording will be available following the event)
– SESSION SNEAK PEEK –
Session One | Could the Future of the Church be Co-Vocational?: Reflections from the Pre-Constantinian Church
Dr. Jason Mills will propose that Jesus and his disciples, including Paul, worked and supported themselves rather than receiving funds for gospel ministry. This pattern continued until around the third or fourth centuries when the empire embraced the Christian message and the church grew in wealth. With church budgets strained and Christian societal influence waning, could the church once again be headed for a bright co-vocational future?
Session Two | Could the Future of the Church be Co-Vocational?: Hope for the Present and Recommendations for the Future of the Church in Canada
Part-time employment in Canadian churches is on the rise while full-time congregational work is declining. While counterintuitive, diminishing support for full-time pastors may present an opportunity. To live into that future requires reorienting our perspective and discovering new ways of thinking about ministry, the church, and how we educate.
