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DALLAS—Mitchell Armstrong is a heavy equipment mechanic. He works out of a service truck and spends 90% of his time outside in the sun working on farm equipment, skid steers, forklifts, and the like. It’s the epitome of manual labor, equal parts hot and hard.
He’s also a husband and father to seven kids—ages 16, 12, 10, 9, 5, 4, and 2. There aren’t enough letters on a keyboard to begin to spell out all the responsibilities involved in that. It’s a role that keeps him plenty busy.
And when he isn’t toiling under a tractor or chasing children around all the places children run, he pastors Trinity Baptist Church in Wichita Falls, a short drive from his home in Iowa Park. Trinity has small groups and a worship service on Sunday morning. They’re beginning a new Bible study on Sunday nights, and they also host a prayer meeting on Wednesday nights. In between, he makes hospital and home visits when he can and does as much member care and visitor follow-up as possible on a tight schedule.
Mitchell Armstrong is a bivocational pastor, and this is the life.
“It is one of the most challenging yet joyful things I’ve ever done,” Armstrong said
On Monday, Armstrong was among a group of pastors recognized from the stage during the Southern Baptist Convention Pastors Conference held in advance of the SBC Annual Meeting. He appeared alongside Nathan Lorick, executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Each bivocational pastor’s name was called, and as the recognition ended, it was announced that each would receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Israel through Signature Tours.
For the SBTC, it was a fitting recognition: more than half of its 2,800-plus churches are led by bivocational pastors.
“Bivocational pastors carry two callings with one heart,” said Shane Kendrix, who serves as the SBTC’s regional associate in Northwest Texas, an area that includes Armstrong’s church. “They faithfully serve both the church and the world, proving that ministry isn’t confined to the pulpit, but lived out wherever God calls you.”
Armstrong is still in awe of God’s calling on his life. He was saved in January 2020 shortly after accepting an invitation from a co-worker to attend a Bible study. Two months later, as COVID was disrupting life across the globe, Armstrong began to experience his own life-changing moment—sensing God’s call for him to pastor.
For Armstrong, it didn’t make sense. The whole world was shutting down, he already had a full-time job and a family of eight at that point, and he didn’t have any formal ministry education. Nevertheless, he began faithfully following God’s call, enrolling in online ministry courses and accepting opportunities to preach and teach at nearby churches.
At one point, that included leading his grandfather’s adult Sunday school class at First Baptist Church Iowa Park. As Armstrong stood at the front of the class and taught God’s Word, he looked into the eyes of people who had prayed for his salvation many times before at the request of his grandfather.
“Isn’t that amazing?” Armstrong said. “It’s so awesome how God works.”
In October 2023, while attending a work training in Tennessee, Armstrong was contacted by FBC Iowa Park’s lead pastor, Josh Fields. Trinity Baptist Church in Wichita Falls was interested in Armstrong submitting a resume for their pastor position that was soon to be vacant when their current pastor retired. At that point, Armstrong was focused on finishing his theological education first, but he walked through the door God seemed to be opening. A couple months later, in January 2024, Armstrong was called to be Trinity’s pastor.
Fields said Armstrong “has gone from being a friend to a gospel partner.”
“I’m thankful to the Lord that Mitch has been able to begin fulfilling his calling … and I look forward to seeing how God continues to use him in the years to come,” Fields said. “Even though he no longer sits in the pews of [our church], he is a brother in the gospel and our mission remains mutual—to make disciples.”
Bivocational pastoring is a fulfilling calling, Armstrong said, that isn’t without its challenges. Spare time is rare, and the work can often feel isolating with little margin to connect with other pastors. At the same time, working outside the church gives him opportunities to share Christ with people with whom he might not otherwise have contact. And being stretched thin, he finds, only gives God more opportunities to show what He can do in any circumstance.
“When you’re a bivocational pastor, you see God do things in ways you didn’t think were possible,” Armstrong said. “He will show you a way in a way that keeps you humble. He opens doors. He gives you the time. Just when you think it can’t be done, He makes a way. … He does things in His time and He puts things together and it happens and all you can say is, ‘Wow, God is awesome.’”
