For Rev. Nick Forsythe, being bi-vocational is a double blessing.
The Kentuckian is the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Grand Rivers and the director of Hope Unlimited Family Care Center in Paducah. Forsythe was recently promoted after working for six years as the center’s Family Resource Director and Educator.
In a Facebook post this spring, Forsythe—who became the senior pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in 2009 at the age of 18—expressed joy as he announced his new position at Hope Unlimited, a Care Net-affiliated pregnancy center.
“I am so thankful to work for an amazing pro abundant life organization and lead such an amazing team!” he said. “I started my journey with Hope six years ago as a part-time educator in our student development team. Since then, I have been blessed beyond measure.”
Although it’s rare for a pastor to also work as the director of a pregnancy center, Forsythe sees his work as an extension of community outreach. In his previous role at Hope Unlimited, he served dads through mentoring and court-ordered parenting classes and educated, equipped, and inspired teens to make positive choices through school programs.
Forsythe, the father of two young children, credits the support of his wife and the understanding and compassion of his congregation for his ability to serve in such a unique and ambitious manner.
“I am thankful to pastor a church that considers Hope Unlimited as a mission field, which they support by sending their pastor every week to advance the gospel,” he said on Facebook.
In an article at www.KentuckyToday.com, Forsythe explained that his church “loves that I work [at Hope Unlimited]” because they see the big picture.
“They see it all as one big ministry—our pastor is serving the church and serving the community and sharing the gospel with lost people, and he can do that here at our office or he can do it there at their office—but it’s all ministry to them.”
A few years ago, on Sanctity of Life Sunday at his church, Forsythe passionately interceded to the Lord for a continued Pro Abundant Life movement within his congregation:
“I pray that we would not only care about the life of the child, but we would care about the life of the mother…I pray that you would burden each one of us—especially on this day when we think about how sacred life is—to remember that the fight for life is always on. I pray that we will not fight with our words; That we would not fight with our hands. But we would fight with our love. That we would show up and love those women well. We would love those families well. And we would love those babies well.”
In the KentuckyToday.com, article, Forsythe, who has a Masters of Divinity degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said he is able to serve at the church and pregnancy center thanks to the grace of God, and wants other bi-vocational pastors to be encouraged by the fact that the Lord sees them and their work.
“The Lord doesn’t see part-time pastors. The Lord doesn’t see bi-vocational ministers,” he said. “He sees all of us as ministers. He sees all of us as pastors who are loving the flock well.”
Lear more at MakingLifeDisciples.com and AbortionHealing.org about how you can help those facing pregnancy decisions.