Pastor's Wives/Husbands - just wondering how many of us there are (m)

[Cindy in C-ville]

I'd love to hear more about you, how linked your life is with the church, how many years you've been in ministry, how you balance ministry and family, challenges, your website, and whatever else you'd like to share.

 

We're a church-planting couple, but have been with our church for 10 years. We meet in a school cafeteria and so have been doing set-up, borrowing class rooms, etc. for a long time. But, there's tremendous blessing in not having a building to pay for, maintain, etc. We went through a painful split that began about 5 years ago and culminated with losing over half our congregation and some very close friends. It was excrutiating, but I can truly say that God used it for good in our personal lives and to move our church to a place of greater health, freedom, and grace. I'm pretty connected with the church and have recently gone through a season in which I realized that I had become too invested. This was impacting our marriage and resulted in pride and a critical nature in my own heart. Seeing this in myself was HUGE, and dh and I have sort of had a 2nd honeymoon season in our marriage as I have invested more time/energy in our relationship than I have in a long time. When we first started out, I ran our children's ministry since I had four children at the time. I did this for many years, too many years, and burned out as a result. After taking a sabbatical, I am now serving in our Connections Ministry, discipling college girls, and doing some speaking/writing on the side. This fits SO MUCH more with my gift sets, season of life, etc, than children's ministry. Here's our website: http://www.evergreenchurch.com.

 

Look forward to hearing from others!

[Jennifer in MI]

I am!! I've got more to say, but I'll come back and do it after I actually teach the kids!!!

[Chris in VA]

Dh and I have been married for 23 years. I knew when I started dating him that he was going to become an Episcopal priest. We went to seminary (spouses always say "we," even if they didn't go to class! :D) and then dh went on to be an assistant in Miami. He felt a call to academia, got his Ph.D in New Testament from SMU, and we spend 8 years in Dallas. Now we're at Pohick Church here in VA, where we spent two years in seminary! Funny, huh? We've been here 7.5 years.

 

I have led a woman's bible study in the past--we did about 5 or 6 of the Beth Moore series. I also have taught Sunday School. My primary ministry is keeping my family together, and modeling to the congregation a life of grace--I certainly need the grace, and they've all shown it to me.

 

I'm not the typical, or rather, stereotypical, pastor's wife. I don't arrange flowers, I haven't joined a guild, I never know what is going on that most people assume I do (dh is very good at keeping things confidential about his parishoners--even the "pastor's wife" doesn't know, so you can be sure he will keep your business private).

 

I love my church--there are things that bug me, but they are pretty small, overall. We have a diverse group, and I'm definitely on the conservative end, but I'm learning to walk with everyone. If I had my way, I would probably join Falls Church and Truro in the Episcopalian split, but probably just becoming Anglican instead of going with a certain African bishop who is helping those churches. Since I've been Episcopalian all my life, it's hard to think of leaving to go to another denom, but I don't consider Anglican to be different, just based in a different country. I grew in faith while in college, hooked up with Campus Life/Youth for Christ, and with Campus Crusade, so I'm very sympathetic to the Protestant end of things--but I also attended Neuman Center, so I like the Catholic stuff, too. For me, Christ is the most important.

 

My hubby has tinkered with our website--www.pohick.org There are lots of links that are pretty cool, and our church newletter tells alot about us, too. I wish they'd put up the Roman Road or something, but at least we are running an Alpha program now.

 

BTW, I've revealed a lot about my personal id--you all may choose not to--that's fine, of course. I would love to be able to visit websites, tho--so consider it, will you?

[Michelle My Bell]

I don't have much time but my husband is a Pastor. When we met we were not saved. He was actually in a rock band with hair to his waist. Then a month after we were married we were invited to church, a few months later we were both saved and active in the church. Fast forward 1 1/2 years and we were packing up for Bible College across the country. Fast forward 4 1/2 years we were in a church. 2 years later we moved back to our hometown and dh began seminary. He is STILL in seminary but he obtained his Master of Arts degree and is about a year more till he has his Master of Divinity degree. God is good in that He gave us a ministry here in our hometown. DH is an Associate Pastor of a non-denominational church. We are really Baptists though. (Calvinistic)

 

Michelle My Bell

[Lorna in the boonies]

Me! Me!

 

Dh and I have been married for 18 years and he has pastored for the last 15 (as a matter of fact, yesterday was the 15th anniversary of moving to our very first pastorate) -- the first three years, he was still in school. We're Assemblies of God. We spent 12 years at our first pastorate (in a very small town that has been in the national news a *lot* lately), and three years ago we moved about an hour north in order to plant a new church. (We never imagined we would be church planters, believe me! That one was a surprise!)

[Starr]

Ah, the life in ministry... I'll write more later as well. :)

[Mx5]

I'd love to hear more about you, how linked your life is with the church, how many years you've been in ministry, how you balance ministry and family, challenges, your website, and whatever else you'd like to share.

 

 

 

My dh was in youth ministry when we married, 23yrs ago. Time flies!

 

He spent 20yrs. with youth, then the past 4yrs. as the solo pastor of a small Ev. Free Church.

 

I have a lot to say, but won't do so here. I can definitely relate to the difficulty of balancing family & ministry, though. If you'd like, feel free to PM me.

[Cindy in C-ville]

This is GREAT, Ladies! I'll check back in later, check out your blogs, your websites, etc. I really love being in ministry alongside dh and have a great church that gives me freedom and accepts my boundaries. Would you all be interested in starting a group? I really don't know how this works, so someone can fill me in, if the interest is there. Several years ago when we were experiencing such pain, I felt so alone except for one friend who was not in our church. In many ways, this was good, b/c it took me deeper than I had ever been in my relationship with Christ. But still, it would have been nice to have a "safe" group that I could "talk" to. I have no desire to add another "thing," so it might not be a good idea. What do you think?

[Jennifer in MI]

I'm not the typical, or rather, stereotypical, pastor's wife. I don't arrange flowers, I haven't joined a guild, I never know what is going on that most people assume I do (dh is very good at keeping things confidential about his parishoners--even the "pastor's wife" doesn't know, so you can be sure he will keep your business private).

 

I love my church--there are things that bug me, but they are pretty small, overall. We have a diverse group, and I'm definitely on the conservative end, but I'm learning to walk with everyone. If I had my way, I would probably join Falls Church and Truro in the Episcopalian split, but probably just becoming Anglican instead of going with a certain African bishop who is helping those churches. Since I've been Episcopalian all my life, it's hard to think of leaving to go to another denom, but I don't consider Anglican to be different, just based in a different country. I grew in faith while in college, hooked up with Campus Life/Youth for Christ, and with Campus Crusade, so I'm very sympathetic to the Protestant end of things--but I also attended Neuman Center, so I like the Catholic stuff, too. For me, Christ is the most important.

 

?

 

Wow! We have a lot in common.

 

I met dh when he was in seminary in Wisconsin. I was living in Boston (my first job out of college). We got to know each other through letters and later on phone calls. I visited him once in seminary and he visited me once in Boston and proposed that weekend!! (I knew the night I met him that I was going to marry him even though I was dating someone else at the time!)

 

Anyway, I'm also a cradle Episcopalian. I attended Church of the Advent while in Boston (wow - talk about high church - loved it!). Dh's first position was as an assistant in Rosemont, PA. From there, he was the rector at a small church outside Pittsburgh (where they just voted to leave the Episcopal church). Now, dh is the rector at St. John's Detroit. http://www.stjohnsdetroit.org/

 

I am also blessed in that I am not expected to join a lot of "groups" just because I'm the rector's wife. I've been asked, but when I explain that I can't (many meet after church and dh is busy - so who will watch my 2 yo dd? Sometimes ds 12 does, but I can't ask him every week!), they all understand. I'll probably go back to teaching Sunday School next year when dd2 is old enough to attend.

 

I do support dh and his ministry by praying for him and keeping our house! I consider that my ministry right now.

 

I'm terribly nervous about what is happening in the Episcopal church right now. I love my church and really don't want to leave. Right now we're in a diocese where we have a bishop we love. We don't agree with him on much, but we can co-exist and love each other and pray for each other. It will be an interesting next few years for us!

 

Anyway, enough about me! I'm enjoying reading about everyone!

[HomeOnTheRanch]

In three weeks it will be 20 years since I met DH in college. He was a Theology major. A year and a half later we were married. Two years later after I had graduated we went off to Seminary. We were there for four years since he took summers off to work AND he had decided to become a doctor also, which necessitated him taking pre-med classes in addition to the Seminary courses. After Seminary was 4 years of med school, 3 years of residency, and now we have been living in our current home for 5 years (a record for us!) as he is a bi-vocational doctor (in a rural health clinic) and pastor (35 member church). There are immense challenges, especially since both tend to be full-time jobs, but we are doing what we are supposed to be doing, so it all comes together.

:001_smile:

[Cindy in C-ville]

In three weeks it will be 20 years since I met DH in college. He was a Theology major. A year and a half later we were married. Two years later after I had graduated we went off to Seminary. We were there for four years since he took summers off to work AND he had decided to become a doctor also, which necessitated him taking pre-med classes in addition to the Seminary courses. After Seminary was 4 years of med school, 3 years of residency, and now we have been living in our current home for 5 years (a record for us!) as he is a bi-vocational doctor (in a rural health clinic) and pastor (35 member church). There are immense challenges, especially since both tend to be full-time jobs, but we are doing what we are supposed to be doing, so it all comes together.

:001_smile:

 

Good grief! I cannot even IMAGINE dh being an M.D. and a pastor! That's amazing! Although dd says that she wants to be a doctor/missionary. She is 15, so it's not quite a "toddler dream." But I just can't imagine ALL the school and then caring for people's pastorally AND medically. Wow!

[tricia]

My dh is in the ministry at our church too. He works a lot so when he is gone doing church stuff I don't really mind because I am so used to holding down the fort anyway.

 

Tricia

http://www.mommyx12.blogspot.com

[Mx5]

This is GREAT, Ladies! I'll check back in later, check out your blogs, your websites, etc. I really love being in ministry alongside dh and have a great church that gives me freedom and accepts my boundaries. Would you all be interested in starting a group? I really don't know how this works, so someone can fill me in, if the interest is there. Several years ago when we were experiencing such pain, I felt so alone except for one friend who was not in our church. In many ways, this was good, b/c it took me deeper than I had ever been in my relationship with Christ. But still, it would have been nice to have a "safe" group that I could "talk" to. I have no desire to add another "thing," so it might not be a good idea. What do you think?

 

 

Our role can be very lonely.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I met my dh in seminary. He was my Greek study buddy. It is a romance language, you know! My dh is an fulltime RN and a pastor at night and on the weekends. We are looking for a ministry right now. Dh preached interim at a small non-denominational church for the last 3 years but that ended at the end of August. Right now we have a Wed. night ministry at an Assisted Living apartment buildings. On Thursday nights dh teaches another Bible study about an hour away. We are considering attending a church where the pastor is 71 years old and has told my dh that he would be honored to have dh as his successor.

 

Balancing family and ministry? That is a hard one. This month has been esp. hard because my dh has had two difference conferences to attend as well as the usual work and ministry. In fact he is gone all this week at a pastor's conference. He does call every night. Last night my dd cried with missing her daddy. Unfortunately she was asleep when he was able to call at 10 pm.

 

Here's what we try to do most of the time to balance family and ministry: we try to make ministry a family affair. On Wed. my dh preaches and teaches two classes. The kids and I all work together with others to set up the sound system etc. Ds11 is in charge of the sound system and recording/burning CDs of the main service. I sing in the worship team, sing special music at times and lately have been worship leader. DD6 helps with set up and has recently shown an interest in singing duets with me. We are discussing whether or not the family should participate in the Bible study on Thursday nights too. It would make two late nights in a row but it would keep us together so there are pros and cons either way.

 

I don't know what a "typical" pastor's wife is so I'm not sure if I qualify as one. Dh and I have (I think) a unique situation in which I am often approached as often as he is for counseling/advice. If we can, we counsel people together (esp. women).

[mims]

My husband is pastor of a non-denominational church in Montana. He planned to teach at a college or seminary level but the year (to the date) after we were married (he was only 22 and I was 23!) he started filling pulpit in a small church that had just lost their pastor (and all his extended family) in a bad situation. The first Sunday there may have been 20 people. I was asked on the spot if I could play the piano - they had also lost the piano player. We led the youth group and a Bible Study. After a year of commuting an hour 3 times a week we moved into the 'parsonage' which was in the church basement. We pretty much had teenagers at our place all the time. Pretty much anything that happened in the church was started by us. After 5 years we moved to a church in Minnesota so he could work on his master's degree. It was a much more established church which also meant certain expectations of the pastor's wife. Now we are back in Montana at another church. It is just big enough, about 250, that I don't stand out in the crowd. By choice I'm involved with Bible studies, AWANA, and a few other things. I do have a strong compassion for pastor's wives in small churches because of my previous experience. It is a very lonely place to be.

[Just Me]

My dh is a Middle School minister and the Director of our Christian Life Center. I have to go pack for our mini-vacation, but I will be back soon to expound!

[neesek]

I have enjoyed reading all of your responses. What a diverse group we are! My dh is currently the pastor of a Baptist church. We have been here for over seven years now. He started out as a youth/assistant pastor for three years after college, then we packed up and moved to the south for three years while he pursued his M.Div. He worked full time, went to school full time, and held a part time position at a church while we were there. After his graduation, we moved back here, where we have been ever since.

 

My role in his ministry has definitely decreased as we have added more children and since we started homeschooling. Right now my biggest role is co-directing the music ministry and playing the piano. I have also worked in the children's department, and for several years I had a Wednesday night class of teenage girls.

 

I would love to see a group get started too. :)

[Cindy in C-ville]

Denise, our story is pretty similar. Dh was a teacher and a "Volunteer Area Director" with Young Life when we first married. I helped out with YL and then after that year moved from NC to MA where he went to seminary. We considered me pursuing my M.Div. as well, since Gordon-Conwell had a "2 for 1" program. But, I got pregnant that first month :) and within our four years there had our first three girls. Dh was hired as the Youth Pastor at our church and served there throughout seminary. After he graduated, we came back to NC and visited churches from the coast to the mtns, but nothing was a fit. There's lots more to the story, but within two months we were packing our bags and moving from MA to VA where we've been ever since.

[Jennefer@SSA]

I met my dh when he was the Pastor to Single Adults at the church I was attending. We were married 16 months later. He continued to serve in that capacity for 2 more years as he finished seminary. We have been at our current church for 10 years where dh is the Teaching Pastor of a non-denominational Bible Church. We are very happy here. No church is perfect but we love the people we have the privilege to "do life" with here. :)

 

I am very fortunate that we are in a great situation. We have 3 boys and a 4th baby on the way. Taking care of my dh and our boys is my main ministry. I do serve at our church but there are no expectations placed on any staff wife except to be a growing follower of Christ. I serve with the children's ministry - not because I feel I have to but because I want to. Yes, I realize how blessed I am. I know for many in smaller churches that you and your families are under the microscope and you deal with huge expectations on a regular basis.

 

It's been fun to read about everyone else. I'll check back later to read even more!

[mazakaal]

I don't have time now to read all the responses or to write too much. I'm a pastor's wife, too. I'm surprised how many there are here on the boards. I hadn't realized.

 

I'll post more later.

[Cindy in C-ville]

Me too, Megan! So far we have:

 

MeganP

Jennefer@SSA

neesek (Denise)

Just Me (Michelle)

mims

Jean in Newcastle

Mx5

Tricia

Jennifer in MI

Chris in VA

Michelle my Bell

Lorna in the Boonies

Starr

Home on the Ranch

and me. :)

 

Are there others? Of course, SWB and Kay in Cal's DH come to mind ...

[Trivium Academy]

I'd love to hear more about you, how linked your life is with the church, how many years you've been in ministry, how you balance ministry and family, challenges, your website, and whatever else you'd like to share.

 

1. Years in Ministry: We're in our 5th year.

 

2. My involvement: Right now I'm a Sunday School teacher for 4th-5th graders and I volunteer for projects as I'm able to. The kids attend youth on Wednesday nights. I hold an Open House every year around Christmas time for the congregation to visit our home.

 

3. Balancing ministry and family: Dh takes care of the ministry, I take care of the family. A lot of the time, I function as a single parent.

 

4. Challenges: See #2 and #3. :) Plus Dh is attending college and for the last year has had serious back issues while dealing with the death of his mother last October.

 

5. Website linked below in signature but it's about homeschooling.

[Mary in NJ]

My husband is a pastor on loan to the US Army as a Chaplain.

 

He has been a pastor for 9 years. My involvement is minimal. I help with VBS, occassional women's bible studies, preparing meals when there has been an illness, new baby, etc., and participating in prayer groups. During deployments, I have been asked to speak to FRG (family readiness groups) to give encouragement.

 

Most of my time is spent teaching the three children, maintaining the home front, preparing for a new military move or unpacking from the latest move, and being a support to my husband.

 

No website to take care of. But, I do love to sew, all my extra time goes to this hobby.

[Tabrett]

Add another person to your list. ME!

 

Dh was a church planter in FL. He planted 3 churches and pastored 2. Currently he is the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Areas Director of Beaufort, Ridgeland, Hampton and Yemassee S.C.

 

I don't have enough time to tell our story right now. But a social group would be fun!

[Guest Katia]

I can join this group!

 

My dh has been a pastor for just over 26 years. He has done the gamut from youth pastor to associate pastor to senior pastor and is now at a small church doing bi-vocational pastoring (something he thought he would 'never' do,LOL)

 

My role in the church is minimal: right now I'm leading our youth group (of 5-6 kids so it's nothing grand) and sometimes I sing. If the need is super-great I will lead the worship singing.

 

Mostly, I support dh behind the scenes and manage to get to the Sun a.m. worship service. First and foremost I am a wife, mother and homeschooler, and I take that role very seriously. Church is waaayyy down on my list. It's dh's job; not mine!

[Frontier Mom]

I met my dh while he was in Seminary at Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, GA. I was the Junior High SS teacher and he came to the church as a part-time Youth Minister while he was in school. We knew each other about a year before we started dating but, once we started dating, we married 4 months later!

 

Dh has been a pastor with the United Methodist Church for around 15 years now and is currently the Senior Pastor of a church north of Charlotte. I have stayed involved in various ways through out our marriage from SS teacher to VBS director to Youth Counselor. As long as my dc's are involved in an event, I am usually involved in some manner.

 

Currently I am employed part-time by our church as the Children's K to 5th grade Ministries Director. We have a children's service of about 150 + each week at the same time as our other service so I don't hear dh preach very often anymore. That has been very different, in fact, some people don't even know who I am anymore. Kinda good, kinda bad.

 

My roles have changed throughout the years, but ministry for us is a family event. My dc's love the church and are already taking some major leadership roles in youth and children's ministries. For instance, my oldest is the Middle School representative on our Youth Council, my second son runs A/V at our church for the services, and my youngest two lead worship in song during our children's service.

 

Our church staff is great and we often go out to lunch with them. Being a ministry family can be trying but our church is very loving and supportive. Overall, it has been a great ride for us!!

 

BTW, if you go to my Web site and click on "Tim's Farewell" you can see how we send our staff off. LOL.

[kat19]

Not sure if I really fit this bill or not, but my husband has a license to preach.

He fills in at churches when the pastor is gone.

At our church he was the Youth Intern Pastor for a couple years but then decided to step down due to family issues. During that time he was also a Deacon at church.

Right now he is teaching the youth Sunday school class.

And for the next 2 Sundays will be preaching out of town.

 

I help with VBS(one year I was the director) and sometimes with Sunday school.

 

That's my story, not sure if its what your looking for or not :001_smile:

[mazakaal]

My story... I met dh at church when we were both pretty new Christians, but very involved in the church. About a year after we got married we moved to Moscow to help start a church. This was '94 right after things opened up there. Dh was the assistant pastor there for 6 months, but had to take over the church when the pastor was in the States for 3 months. After the pastor's return, we moved back to the States, dh got a secular job, that was still a ministry. He was managing a surf store which was owned by a Christian guy who encouraged dh to use it as an outreach ministry. After 5 years doing that we moved here to England to start a church. In addition pastoring the church, dh started organizing a festival and doing a lot of outreach work. A year ago dh turned the church over to a British guy (his assistant pastor who was the first person to come to the church), and dh is now the outreach pastor at the church.

 

I've worked in more different ministries in the church than I can count between our lay ministry days and being a pastor's wife (singles, children, couples, women, outreach, homeless feedings, media ministry, administration). The first several years of this church plant I taught Sunday School every week (even 3 days after dd was born) and did periodic women's Bible studies. Eventually I found others to teach SS and only had to run the children's ministry. Finally, when I thought we were going to be moving, I turned the children's ministry over. I recently started teaching SS again, but only every 3rd week. I also do a lot of hospitality ministry right now. I cooked a Friday night meal for the church every week (unless I was out of town) for 2 1/2 years. The cooking finally got turned over to others when we were on furlough this year, so now I just host the event.

 

I find that the biggest challenges in the ministry are dh's expectations. The people at the church are great, but in dh's mind, if there's no one else to do something, then I should step up. He's gotten better as time goes on (I didn't have to teach SS the week after ds was born), but I'm hoping that it will get better still. Also, I struggle with dc's attitudes to the ministry. My oldest in particular really resents the ministry and the church a lot of the time. He tends to have a difficult time with keeping a good attitude in general. It is a real struggle.

 

Anyway, I would love it if a social group started. I really do feel like I'm on my own here. As a pw I really can't talk to anyone about a lot of the struggles and difficulties of life.

 

Thanks for starting this thread, Cindy.

[Jennefer@SSA]

Anyway, I would love it if a social group started. I really do feel like I'm on my own here. As a pw I really can't talk to anyone about a lot of the struggles and difficulties of life.

 

:iagree: One of the things about being in ministry is that we give up privileges that others have - being able to vent comes to mind. When your dh is their spiritual leader then you can't say/reflect certain things. I am blessed to have a few safe friends around whom I can truly be myself but I have been burned in the past and have vowed to never let that happen again!

 

I find that the biggest challenges in the ministry are dh's expectations. The people at the church are great, but in dh's mind, if there's no one else to do something, then I should step up. He's gotten better as time goes on (I didn't have to teach SS the week after ds was born), but I'm hoping that it will get better still. Also, I struggle with dc's attitudes to the ministry. My oldest in particular really resents the ministry and the church a lot of the time. He tends to have a difficult time with keeping a good attitude in general. It is a real struggle.

 

I am sorry that your dh feels this way. My dh is exactly the opposite. I will try to step up and do something and he will fuss at me! He is very protective of me and knows my limits better than I do myself. Right now 3 busy boys keeps me at my limit most of the time! :D Also, he feels that if ministry/elder wives are always stepping in to do what others in the church should be doing then church members and attenders will never feel the "burn" and realize how much there is to do. Sometimes others have to feel that burn to give them the incentive to serve!

Edited October 15, 2008 by Jennefer@SSA

[mazakaal]

if ministry/elder wives are always stepping in to do what others in the church should be doing then church members and attenders will never feel the "burn" and realize how much there is to do. Sometimes others have to feel that burn to give them the incentive to serve!

 

This is so true. It's the only way that I was able to get help with the Friday night cooking. We were in the US for a month a while back. The congregation decided to just skip the meal on Friday night and have coffee/tea/dessert with a Bible study. They said that it just wasn't the same without the meal. So when we took a 3 month trip to SA a couple of months later, a couple of guys did the cooking every week. Yet when I returned, the cooking landed firmly back in my lap. This past winter we were away for over 5 months. They got a whole rotation going with 3 teams of people cooking. The first week I was back, who do you think cooked? I went to the new pastor and told him that I didn't want to have any of the cooking responsibility because it will inevitably fall back in my lap. They agreed. Finally everyone else has taken the responsibility. I'm now just the backup cook. Yea!

[Cindy in C-ville]

Megan, this happened with me with children's ministry. I was invested in it, had vision, leadership skills, had joy, and sensed the Lord's pleasure over me. Yet, when we went through our split and I was just laid out bare before the Lord, capable of doing nothing else but clinging to Jesus, the gal I had discipled and trained in this ministry became a casualty and "walked." Rather than knowing I had nothing to give and letting the pieces fall, I picked them up and did the work in my own strength. I was so miserable and finally had the courage to say that I couldn't do it. Finally, after four years of people just filling in the gaps, we have a person who feels called to children's ministry leading again. But still, I can't even volunteer back there. It's simply too painful and brings back all the feelings of duty-driven service. But I am serving now in areas of passion and gifting and am learning to guard my boundaries and protect my margins. My boundaries and margins are different than dh's and so we have to negotiate at times, but I'm okay with that and have learned to be firm knowing that ultimately he doesn't want me doing anything that the Lord hasn't called me to and that won't bring joy to my own heart.

 

All that to say, "CONGRATS!" for maintaining resolve!

 

Okay, gals, how do we make a group happen? Can someone take the lead on this?

[Kay in Cal]

Well... I'm an ordained United Methodist pastor. My dh does most of the homeschool teaching, but I'm the one who plans our curriculum and hangs out on the boards, and I've been around here for about 6 years now.

 

I'm the only pastor of a small congregation in sub/urban Los Angeles, and our lives do indeed revolve around the church, though we actually live in the parsonage for the next UMC up the road, which means we don't have drop-ins or anything. I've been in full-time ordained ministry for 13 years now, seven years of it at the church I currently serve. The home/work/church balance is always tricky. I like to do as much as I can (writing sermons, planning classes, etc) at home.

Edited October 16, 2008 by Kay in Cal

[sweetbaby]

I'd love to hear more about you, how linked your life is with the church, how many years you've been in ministry, how you balance ministry and family, challenges, your website, and whatever else you'd like to share.

 

My dh is not a pastor but a minister in our church. We met at work. He is a paramedic and I was an emergency room nurse. He became a minister afterward (ten years ago). We have changed churches since then due to relocation and have stepped back from taking a huge role in church ministry (this year) so there are no real challenges as yet. In the past, I had been director of Children's ministry and occasionally relief Bible study teacher. I have a homeschool blog linked in my siggy. Ministry is challenging but just remember: God first and hubby second. Everything else takes the back burner. Oh, also learn to say no and give the realms to someone else. Don't overload yourself.

[Jolash]

My husband is a UM pastor. We've been married for 16 years and he was a pastor when I married him. Still, being the pastor's wife has been an education!

 

I'm not as involved in the "life" of the church in this appointment as I've been in the past, primarily because I'm homeschooling our son and it takes a lot of time and committment. I participate in a women's Bible study, but don't lead it. I've done so in the past, though.

 

I don't consider myself very typical. And in fact, most people who get to know me have a hard time seeing me as a "typical" PW. I'm not all sweetness and light!! I am who I am and hope people accept me for that. If not, oh well. ;)

[Cindy in C-ville]

Hi Kay! I was hoping you'd show up! Thanks, Kysha and Shari, for posting too. The only "typical" PW I've ever met was at our church in MA She played the organ and led the choir BUT, she was also a sociology professor at one of the local colleges. Hopefully the day is done when PW's are expected to fill someone else's ideal.

[Cindy in C-ville]

Hey Gals! I've created a social group - Fishbowl Living - and would love for you to join!

[KuniMom]

Count me in too. I don't post much - I'm usually too busy reading all the threads :001_smile:. My dh is a youth pastor to military youth, and he is looking at pastoring an overseas military church in the near future. I'm not very involved in the youth ministry right now, although I have been in the past. We attend a military chapel, so it is a bit different than a regular church. I help out in the children's ministry. I really enjoy where we are and what we are doing.

[mazakaal]

It happens so easily, doesn't it, Cindy?

 

Glad you were able to detatch yourself and get involved in ministry that was more in line with your gifts and interests.