READ: 2 Timothy 4:1-5
“But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” – 2 Timothy 4:5
What is the tent ministry? It is the ability to combine secular work with real ministry. The best example of the tent ministry was the ministry of Apostle Paul. It is so called because Paul was a tent maker.
“Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, where he met Aquila, a Jewish man from Pontus. Not long before this, Aquila had come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Emperor Claudius had ordered the Jewish people to leave Rome. Paul went to see Aquila and Priscilla and found out that they were tent makers. Paul was a tent maker too. So he stayed with them and they worked together.
Every Sabbath, Paul went to the Jewish meeting place. He spoke to Jews and Gentiles and tried to win them over” (Acts 18:1-4, Contemporary English Version).
The tent ministry is one in which you support yourself. Is this the way that God planned for ministry to be? The Bible teaches: “Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:14). Paul was the great church planter of the New Testament. He was able to accomplish great things for the Lord whilst he supported himself with the tent-making business. I myself combined being a medical student with ministry. I know many people who are effectively ministering the Word of God whilst they continue in their professions.
The tent ministry is even more vital for church planting today.