Success Stories

DeerGrove Covenant Church is located in Palatine, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Rev. Taylor Sexton, lead pastor , is proud to be a bivocational pastor. He has always had two primary passions in life and never knew they could co-exist. He explained that having a bivocational pastor is as much a calling of the congregation as it is the pastor. More volunteers are required and it challenges people to look within themselves and identify talents and gifts they can use to serve the church. Taylor mentioned that his favorite part of Sunday
mornings is seeing all the volunteers come together to create a beautiful worship experience. From the tech team to the worship team, admins, ushers and beyond, none of it would be possible without volunteers. One of the unique volunteer opportunities is preaching. Two different lay leaders with divinity degrees have shared their gifts through sermons, something Taylor didn’t think would happen at a church with a full-time pastor.

The life of a bivocational pastor provides a new context within the local community. In many ways, Taylor says he has two mission fields; the one in the church and in his other career of landscaping. It has helped make biblical and gospel truths more approachable as church member s can connect to him on a different level and with a different perspective. It also mandates that both Taylor and the church steward their time wisely.

Taylor has been in his current role since December 2022. He became lead pastor of DeerGrove following an incredibly difficult season for the church. Membership dropped almost in half from 2019 to 2023. The former lead pastor accepted a new calling while the church doors were still closed due to Covid. The members who stayed didn’t know what the future held or if the church would continue to exist. Taylor thanked National Covenant Properties for their grace and patience
during this season of uncertainty. NCP provided counsel and advice on how to maximize the use of their building for ministry. Taylor said he is profoundly grateful for NCP and does not know where DeerGrove would be without a lending partner like NCP.

DeerGrove is pleased to be another example of of a church with a bivocational pastor. They are showing the attainability of this non-traditional church model. DeerGrove is deepening their identity as a church that serves outside the walls of their building through partner ships with local organizations. Taylor is incredibly thankful to be a par t of God’s leading DeerGrove to be in this community and to be sent out full of love and grace to serve others.