Two Cents, Please

Friends, I need your input.  Really.

I am currently involved in planning breakout sessions for Pastor’s wives at not one…not two….but THREE different conferences! Teams of us are brainstorming what YOU need to hear, what YOU want to experience, and how YOU can be best equipped to be the best YOU you can be.

First up, Churchplanters.com is planning their conference, Velocity, on February 18-19 just north of Atlanta at Mountain Lake Church.  We are hosting an entire Pastor’s Wives Track with 4 separate breakouts.

Next, Exponential is planning their conference, DiscipleShift (careful how you say that, ladies) on April 22-25 in sunny Orlando.  In a joint effort, Churchplanters.com is hosting a Healthy Leader Track and the Pastor’s Wives Track.

Finally, the North American Mission Board is planning their conference, Send North America, in Dallas, Tx, on July 29-30.  I met with an Advisory Team recently to begin brainstorming all the fabulous details….it’s going to be great.

Ok, here’s where I need YOU!  WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW? WHAT DO YOU NEED TO LEARN ABOUT? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE?

Would you like to hear about dealing with criticism? Leadership practices? Tips for marriage in ministry? Leading/encouraging your ministry team? Defining your role as a PW? Would you like ways to connect with other PW’s? The sky’s the limit!

WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR FROM?  Do you have suggestions for speakers/leaders that you would enjoy hearing?

Here’s your chance to let your voice be heard! Put in your two cents!  Together, we really can help each other not only survive, but thrive!

20 thoughts on “Two Cents, Please”

  2. I attended your breakout at SEND North America in August and that was my first session ever specifically about being a church planter’s wife and it was so incredibly refreshing. Exactly what I needed.

    Some ideas I have – sessions I would love to attend would be:
    – Handling criticism – esp when it’s about your pastor/hubby
    – How to pray for your pastor/church planter husband
    – Church Planter’s wife 101: what does it look like for newbies to attend
    (I love the book “So my husband wants to be a church planter so what does that make me” that NAMB put together – teaching a session that included things from that book would be excellent)
    – Keeping the main thing the main thing: the importance of keeping your relationship with Christ #1 and the ministry to your husband/family next. (So terribly easy to get distracted doing all the church things that need done as a planter’s wife and forgetting your husband and children have to come before that).
    – “But I don’t want to be a pastor/church planter’s wife” – I have met several ladies whose husbands were called into ministry years into their marriage and the wives seriously struggle with feeling out of place and are bitter or hurting. A session about healing, forgiveness, submitting to God’s leading/husband would be super awesome.

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  3. Lee Patterson says:

    I know we talk about this all of the time… but saying “no.” When you have a small church, everyone wants you to be involved in everything – especially those things created for women/children. While some of it may sound really great – PRIOTITIES…

    a whole different session could be on being the Pastor’s Wife God needs you to be – to include: praying for your husbands, boundries, quiet time, scripture memory, etc.

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  4. Why is ok to say ‘no’ and not give reasons why. AKA Boundaries ;0) I have taught Missionaries on this topic for years, but having it said to me at the L&LI retreat was a great reminder!

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    • Thanks, Angela. Learning to say no graciously….without guilt…..that’s a much needed lesson for many in ministry. The L&LI retreat was fun, wasn’t it?! Good lessons, good times with friends!

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  6. nicki says:

    What to do in a church crisis! After ten years as the wife of a Pastor, we had our first major “are we going to survive this” over a staff member that was asked to resign but we couldn’t talk about it. We went through the hardest 6 months of our lives. I wasn’t prepared! I didn’t know how to help myself, my husband or my church. It would be nice to have some “Here’s how to manage” type of discussions that can be pulled out when crisis comes.

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    • Nicki, so true!! We, too, have experienced pain filled situations alone. We clung to the words of wisdom from other pastors who were further along in ministry. At times, it was our only solace. A workshop to equip us with what to expect and healthy responses would be stellar!

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  7. Lindsay Crawford says:

    Almost every “Church Planter” event I have attended, I feel like I’m about the only one of the pastors wives working a full time job. How do I even begin to balance working 40hrs a week, a three year old (#2 in just a few weeks), my husband, and ministry?

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  8. You are not alone Lindsay Crawford! 🙂 I struggle with this as well. I have always worked outside the home in some capacity and never been directly involved with my husband’s ministry job(s). I do feel left out and discouraged at times to not feel like I know the staff as well as my husband. Granted he works with them but I sometimes struggle with talking more about my husbands job than mine. Where do us working Pastors wives fit in the picture? Is it his ministry or ours?

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  9. Tricia,

    I think people need to be reminded that their spouse comes first — before the ministry and before the kids. Our spouse should be second only to our personal relationship with God.

    Have a Victorious Day!
    Marianne

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