A Horse & Carriage? (Pt 2)

Thought I’d share a few posts on your wife for pastors, especially church planters. I don’t mean to be sexist. If you are a female pastor or church planter, more power to ya. I just don’t know anything about being a male spouse of a church planter, so I can’t speak on that…

So of first importance for potential church planters: If you are thinking about starting a church, your wife better be all in. If your wife is not fully supportive of planting a church, don’t do it. She can be nervous, even scared (she probably should be!) but if she’s unsure, that won’t be good.

I’ll throw in here that you need to be sure as well. I tell guys who are thinking of starting a church, “If you can do something else, do it. Only plant a church if you HAVE to do it. If you’re sure God is calling you to it and can’t imagine life without it.” Why? Because church planting is hard! And if you have something else you could have done, I think you’ll keep looking back and wondering what could have been, and you may even drop out.

In the same way, your wife needs to be all in. It’s going to be tough on her too. If she goes into it filled with doubts about whether it’s God’s calling, whether it’s the wise choice, then when things get tough she’ll find herself questioning what you’re doing.

Not only will this make life tough and confusing for her, it will also make things really difficult on your marriage. Marriage is hard enough, throw in starting a church and, well, ouch. But if you also throw in a wife who’s not convinced, that’s a recipe for pain.

So, if you’re thinking about it, make sure your wife has prayed up, you’ve had a heart-to-heart, and she’s all in.

We’ll hit this theme more next time, until then enjoy your next breakfast.

– featured on newchurches.com