Self-supporting minister

Self-supporting ministers (SSMs), previously called non-stipendiary ministers or non-stipendiary priests (NSMs), are religious ministers who do not receive a stipend (i.e. payment) for their services and therefore financially support their own ministry. They usually have alternative employment which provides monetary income with which they can support themselves. There were around 2,000 SSMs in the Church of England at the turn of the 21st century and 3,230 in 2016.