Ministry Wives Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Finding Your Place in Ministry (an interview with Angie Brown Elkins) Jan 15, 2024

Show notes

Finding your place in ministry as a pastor’s wife or ministry wife can leave you feeling frustrated and stuck. You might feel constrained by expectations in your church, confused about where you are being called, or feeling stuck because a role you used to fulfill is no longer needed. Pastor’s wife and podcaster Angie Brown Elkins joins me today to share how she has reinvented herself in ministry over the years and how changing her thoughts around “calling” has allowed her to always find ways to serve God.

SHOW NOTES

Sometimes finding your place means saying “yes” to God, even if it means reinventing yourself and starting something new.

Your calling is ultimately to make disciples and love your neighbors. There is always a way to minister in those areas.

If you feel stuck, challenge yourself to do something you’ve never done before and commit to it.

QUOTES

“God will let you serve him if you will just say yes to whatever He’s asking, and maybe it will look completely different at times. You just have to be willing to let go of your idea of what it’s going to look like. If you want to serve Him, you can.”

-Angie Brown Elkins

“I’ve rethought my language around calling because really if this is my calling, if this is what God has called me to do, and man can stop it, is it really of God? So what I realized was our calling is not necessarily to a place or a person or even an exact thing, but it’s more to the things that all of us are called to as believers: making disciples, loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, loving our neighbors ourselves. Those are our callings, and we can do those in lots of different ways.”

-Angie Brown Elkins

Links from the Show

The Glass House

Let It Shine

CONNECT

Connect with Angie

Instagram // Website

Connect with Christine

Facebook // Instagram // Books

Visit How to Thrive as a Pastor’s Wife to access Christine’s resources for ministry wives like you!

Connect with NAMB

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Expectations in Ministry (an interview with Jeanine Sanchez) Nov 20, 2023

Show notes

As ministry wives, it’s far too easy to put ourselves inside a glass bubble with expectations that God does not desire for us. First and foremost, God calls us to be faithful Christians and church members. Pastor’s wife Jeanine Sanchez shares how she teaches other ministry wives to examine the motivations behind their internal and external expectations, focusing on God’s intentions for them in ministry, and how to walk in the inevitable disappointment of others.

SHOW NOTES

Examine internal and external expectations through prayer and intentionality, asking God to reveal the true intentions of your heart, always seeking the counsel of your husband.

There will be seasons where God’s expectations will stretch you beyond comfort, but He won’t keep you there forever.

People will have unmet expectations of you. Disciple them by responding with humility and help them think rightly.

QUOTES

“At the end of it, you can’t be all things to all people. Think back to the Messiah complex. You are one person. You are not like God, you are finite. Know your limitations and disciple your congregation to see you as a normal church member.”

-Jeanine Sanchez

“Remember that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. The Lord delights in those who fear him. So always thinking, ‘Okay, Lord, what do you think about me? What do you think about how I handled this situation?’ And then just pray, we have to have a heart attitude of prayer. ‘Lord, how do you want me to change? How do you want me to view this person?'”

-Jeanine Sanchez

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

Upcoming Book Release

CONNECT

Connect with Christine

Facebook // Instagram // Books

Visit How to Thrive as a Pastor’s Wife to access Christine’s resources for ministry wives like you!

Connect with NAMB

Facebook // Instagram

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In Her Shoes: A Pastor’s Wife (an interview with Caroline Saunders) Nov 13, 2023

Show notes

It can be difficult to fully understand the life of a pastor’s wife without being a pastor’s wife. But understanding this role can help us not only be more compassionate with one another as ministry wives, but also show us how we can better serve one another. Caroline Saunders has been a pastor’s wife for the last 14 years and shares with us the difficulties, the joys, and even some of the hilarious moments she’s encountered along the way.

SHOW NOTES

Pastors’ wives have to learn to endure and persevere in building up the church even when they don’t agree with the decisions being made by their husbands or the elders.

Relationships are harder to navigate because of the nature of their husband’s job and the complexities that go along with the areas of overlap.

Bless your pastor’s wife by asking God to help you see ways that she is unseen, and encourage her in those areas.

QUOTES

“This is the thing that’s teaching me faithfulness, the beauty of the body of Christ and how I must not let secondary issues create a wedge between my husband or between my brothers and sisters at church. Those preferences can be really tough to tangle with and people assume we’ve signed off on all things in the church in total agreement. But there’s something good that happens in my heart over time, having to lay down whatever I perceive my rights are and see the fellowship flourish. It’s not because we’re all on the same page about the sermon series or everything, but because of faithfulness.”

-Caroline Saunders

“If someone is looking to encourage their pastor’s wife, I would say to find ways to see them or ask God to show you ways to see them, because there’s probably an area where they feel very alone and unseen. There may be a really practical way to minister in that place.”

-Caroline Saunders

Links from the Show

Better Than Life

CONNECT

Connect with Christine

Facebook // Instagram // Books

Visit How to Thrive as a Pastor’s Wife to access Christine’s resources for ministry wives like you!

Connect with NAMB

Facebook // Instagram

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ministry After Covid (an interview with Kimberley McGibbon) Nov 06, 2023

Show notes

When Covid hit, none of us could have imagined how far reaching its effects would be, nor for how long we would be grappling with the various issues raised by its influence in our lives. Toronto Send Relief Ministry Centre Director and church planter’s wife Kimberley McGibbon shares how Covid forever changed her life and ministry. She explains how God used Covid to return her identity to Christ, pushed her to reach out to others amidst isolation, and opened her eyes to the new opportunities for discipleship within her city.

SHOW NOTES

Isolation is deadly. Humble yourself and be willing to be welcomed by other ministry wives for much needed love and support.

Allow yourself to grieve when people leave, but take that grief to Jesus. He knows better than anyone what it’s like to be left.

Covid has made unchurched people question life like never before. The harvest is ripe for the church to minister in their cities!

QUOTES

“In the past 20 years, lots of times people have left for different reasons. Some of them have really hurt and it is hard to still keep living open handed, but I think we have to go to Jesus with those things. He above everybody else knows what it’s like to have people leave you in the middle of a very terrible time. His friends left him on the cross, Peter denied him. If anyone is going to understand it’s going to be Jesus.”

-Kimberley McGibbon

“There are losses behind us, and those years were hard years, but if anything, they refined us. They refined our faith, they refined our focus in ministry, and if we have eyes to see it, there are a whole lot of opportunities before us. And we may be doing it a little bit differently than we were doing it before, but maybe that’s good.”

-Christine Hoover

CONNECT

Connect with Christine

Facebook // Instagram // Books

Visit How to Thrive as a Pastor’s Wife to access Christine’s resources for ministry wives like you!

Connect with NAMB

Facebook // Instagram

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Basics of Women’s Ministry (an interview with Kelly King) Oct 30, 2023

Show notes

In its most basic form, Women’s Ministry isn’t about fancy events or complicated Bible studies; it’s about meeting women’s needs where they are. Lifeway Women’s Ministry Specialist Kelly King shares how we can create a lifestyle of women’s ministry that helps get women in the Word, providing encouragement and creating a deeply desired community. Kelly also gives us some practical ideas for troubleshooting challenges that may arise, along with basic leadership principles to help us grow as ministry wives in leadership.

SHOW NOTES

Successful women’s ministries are centered on God’s Word and create an atmosphere of friendship and authenticity.

When trying to start a new women’s ministry, look at the needs of the women in your church and community. How can you encourage them and lead them towards Jesus?

If you are willing to listen to feedback, the Lord can help change you to love and lead others better.

QUOTES

“Number one, women need encouragement. So start there. How are we encouraging women, but also how are we calling them to embrace who Christ is through their relationship and through intimacy in His word? And then how do we echo His heart for the world? God’s word gets in us, but it changes us and there needs to be an outward expression of that.”

-Kelly King

“We are all wired very differently, and God has made us so unique. So don’t look at another leader and feel like ‘I’m just not like her.’ Walk in the person, the woman that God has created you to be. Don’t compare, be you. Because when you’re you, then that’s the best you can give someone else.”

-Kelly King

Links from the Show

Scarlet Hiltibidal: Ashamed

Lifeway Women Academy

CONNECT

Connect with Kelly

Instagram // Book

Connect with Christine

Facebook // Instagram // Books

Visit How to Thrive as a Pastor’s Wife to access Christine’s resources for ministry wives like you!

Connect with NAMB

Facebook // Instagram

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Friendship Between Brothers and Sisters in the Church (an interview with Jen Wilkin and JT English) Oct 23, 2023

Show notes

Love one another. Serve one another. The New Testament is full of commandments instructing us to engage in relationships with one another, including those of the opposite sex. The church must battle against the lie that men and women cannot operate as friends and recover brother-sister relationships within the body of Christ. Close friends and colleagues Jen Wilkin and JT English share today how their friendship is based on mutual respect and trust, the importance of spiritual maturity in this area, and how the church can become stronger and more effective by embracing biblical male/female friendships.

SHOW NOTES

We need to recover friendship between brothers and sisters in the church, encouraging one another, celebrating each other, and elevating one another’s gifts.

Biblical friendship is dependent upon trust, respect, and spiritual maturity.

Continue to offer the hand of friendship even in spaces where you don’t feel entirely welcome.

QUOTES

“The lie that has been told to a generation, not just of pastors but of people, is that any intense feeling or strong feeling for another person, whether same sex or opposite sex, must have a sexual or romantic tone to it. The Bible says something very different. It uses the term one another over and over and over again in the New Testament.”

-Jen Wilkin

“What if we were credited for creating friends and brothers and sisters and just celebrating each other? I mean, when you do it, it’s so freeing and rewarding when you just look another human in the eye and celebrate and encourage them. This isn’t just a gender thing. This is a human thing.”

-JT English

Links from the Show

You are a Theologian

CONNECT

Connect with Christine

Facebook // Instagram // Books

Visit How to Thrive as a Pastor’s Wife to access Christine’s resources for ministry wives like you!

Connect with NAMB

Facebook // Instagram

We Want to Hear From You!

Share your funniest or most embarrassing moments in ministry for a future episode! Visit Speakpipe.com/MinistryWives

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Revitalization and Burnout (an interview with Andrea Valenti) Oct 16, 2023

Show notes

Churches all over the world are dying and God longs to see His churches revitalized, brought back to life, thriving as lights for the Kingdom. But along with the excitement of revitalization can come burnout from the intense emotional, physical, spiritual, and mental work of revitalization. Today, Andrea Valenti shares how she has walked through the highs of revitalization and the lows of burnout, learning to ask others for help and asking Jesus to revitalize her heart.

SHOW NOTES

Revitalization requires patience, active listening, and meeting people where they are.

Burnout can look like numbness, mental and physical fatigue, irritated responses, and a feeling of being overwhelmed.

Try to prevent burnout through healthy boundaries and habits, but if it hits, seek counsel from other ministry wives and resources like the SEND Network.

QUOTES

“Part of the issue is that sometimes there’s so much stigma in discussing the reality of burnout and other mental health concerns. There’s almost this idea of, there’s going to be judgment. If I share that I’ve been burnt out before in ministry, people are going to think that I am somehow less spiritual or less than, or there’s some kind of glaring sin issue that caused that.”

-Andrea Valenti

“You’re not alone. The statistics say at least half of people serving in ministry or other helping professionals are experiencing burnout or have experienced burnout. I think normalizing the fact that it is happening is really important for people to realize that it’s not just you. You’re not the only person. This isn’t a deficit about you, this is about the season and maybe a mismatch of priorities and ways that you’re serving.”

-Andrea Valenti

Links from the Show

SEND Network

CONNECT

Connect with Christine

Facebook // Instagram // Books

Visit How to Thrive as a Pastor’s Wife to access Christine’s resources for ministry wives like you!

Connect with NAMB

Facebook // Instagram

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Intentional Rest in Church Planting (an interview with Vance and Kristie Pitman) Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

Life as a church planter is rewarding and encouraging, but also spiritually, emotionally, and physically exhausting. It’s easy to completely burn out when we aren’t intentionally engaging in the rest Jesus commands us to take. Vance and Kristie Pitman share today how God brought them into a season of forced rest. What they found on the other side was trust in Jesus’ work in His church, stronger family rhythms, and freedom.

SHOW NOTES

Rest is as spiritual as work and a command that comes from Jesus Himself.

Ask trusted believers to be gatekeepers in your life, protecting you from over-committing and forcing you to take times of rest.

The primary call on our lives is not ministry; it’s intimacy with Jesus.

QUOTES

“We had to learn that rest is as spiritual as work. Jesus told the disciples to ‘Come away with me and rest for a while.’ In the Greek language, it’s an imperative, meaning rest is a matter of spiritual obedience.”

-Vance Pitman

“The primary call on our lives is intimacy and ministry is what He does out of the overflow of intimacy. Too many times we think Jesus saved us so we could do something for Him, but He actually saved us because He wants to be with us and then He wants to do something through us.”

-Vance Pitman

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

The Stressless Life

CONNECT

Connect Vance and Kristie

SEND Network

Connect with Christine

Facebook // Instagram // Books

Visit How to Thrive as a Pastor’s Wife to access Christine’s resources for ministry wives like you!

Connect with NAMB

Facebook // Instagram

We Want to Hear From You!

Share your funniest or most embarrassing moments in ministry for a future episode! Visit Speakpipe.com/MinistryWives

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Spiritual Warfare (an interview with James and Desiree Westbrook) Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

The enemy hates any ministry that seeks to increase the kingdom of God. How do we recognize when we are in spiritual warfare, and how do we practically fight against it? James and Desiree Westbrook, planters of The Realm Church in Oakland, California experience immense spiritual warfare every day. They share with us how they battle warfare with Christ’s love, truth, and a right perspective, remaining dedicated to preaching the gospel no matter how the enemy attacks.

SHOW NOTES

Spiritual warfare is anything designed by the enemy that seeks to derail, discourage, or destroy.

Shift your perspective past what’s directly in front of you. There is a correlation between suffering and greatness in the kingdom of God.

Fight warfare by gathering to pray, filling your mind with encouraging spiritual content, and intentionally taking time to rest.

QUOTES

“We have to be reminded that there is a correlation between suffering and service that leads to greatness in the kingdom of God. So when we are going through seasons where it’s difficult, the temptation is to say it’s because of this physical thing or that physical thing. But really, there’s something behind it and a right perspective tells us to expect suffering if we’re going to be considered great in the kingdom.”

-James Westbrook

“Be ready. The enemy wants nothing more than to divide and conquer, to bring about discouragement. Look at all the readiness language in Ephesians 6, ‘be on guard, be alert, be ready.’ Paul uses all this language because he wants you to be ready for what will come. Not if it comes, it will come.”

-James Westbrook

Links from the Show

Realm Church

The Meaning of Marriage

CONNECT

Connect with James and Desiree

Email: Mcross@therealmchurch.com

Connect with Christine

Facebook // Instagram // Books

Visit How to Thrive as a Pastor’s Wife to access Christine’s resources for ministry wives like you!

Connect with NAMB

Facebook // Instagram

We Want to Hear From You!

Share your funniest or most embarrassing moments in ministry for a future episode! Visit Speakpipe.com/MinistryWives

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Serving in Spanish Speaking Ministries (an interview with Carolina Santander, Yessenia Jimenez, Andrea Valenti, Karla Cox) Sep 25, 2023

Show notes

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, this episode of the Ministry Wives podcast is being released completely in Spanish. Send Network Español is a branch of the North American Mission Board’s church planting ministry, Send Network. This ministry resources and helps support Spanish speaking church plants all over North America. Today’s episode features four Spanish speaking ministry wives sharing their heart for the Lord and their communities.

If you are a Spanish speaker, this episode is for you! If you are not, I encourage you to listen to the first few minutes, praising God for His mighty work in reaching every tribe and tongue and lifting up prayers for our sisters who are serving in Spanish speaking ministries.

Conmemorando el Mes de la Herencia Hispana, este episodio del pódcast Ministry Wives ha sido lanzado completamente en español. Send Network Español es una rama del ministerio de plantación de iglesias de la North American Mission Board, Send Network. Este ministerio provee recursos y apoya las plantaciones de iglesias de habla hispana por todo Norte América. El episodio de hoy presenta a cuatro esposas de de plantadores de habla hispana quienes comparten su corazón por el Señor y sus comunidades.

Si hablas español, ¡este episodio es para ti! Alabemos a Dios por su obra maravilosa de alcanzar a cada tribu y lengua, oremos por nuestras hermanas que sirven en ministerios de habla hispana.

CONNECT

Connect with Christine

Facebook // Instagram // Books

Visit How to Thrive as a Pastor’s Wife to access Christine’s resources for ministry wives like you!

Connect with NAMB

Facebook // Instagram

We Want to Hear From You!

Share your funniest or most embarrassing moments in ministry for a future episode! Visit Speakpipe.com/MinistryWives

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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