By Faith With Christine Hoover

What realistic goals or milestones can families begin to implement as they desire more freedom in their budget? Today, I am chatting with Angie McClain, a certified financial planner with GuideStone. When you feel like you’re on a limited budget, how can you handle your money effectively, live as a good steward, practice financial thoughtfulness, and teach your children well? We’re going to dive into all these areas of financial planning here in this episode! CONNECT Connect with Amy Facebook // Instagram // Podcast Connect with NAMB Facebook // Instagram Connect with Guidestone Contact // Comprehensive Wellness Tips // Resources // Retirement Planning and Advice // Wealth Management  

How do you manage the regular rhythms of ministry while caring for your family and starting a new church? In this episode, I chat with church planting wife Joy Ross. She currently serves church planting families, has been married for over twenty years, and is a mom of six. Joy and I dive into the nuances of family life within the first few years of marriage and ministry, specifically in the church planting context. So, if you wrestle with your role in ministry and are facing tough questions like, “Is this normal? Am I weird? Are we even making a difference? Are we messing up our kids?”, I pray that this conversation will bring your concerns into the light and help diffuse their false power over you as we tether our hearts to Jesus and pursue His calling upon our lives in each new season. LINKS FROM THE SHOW Pastoral Care Line CONNECT Connect with Joy Instagram // Facebook Connect with Amy Facebook // Instagram // Podcast Connect with NAMB Facebook // Instagram

With busy schedules in ministry, how do you and your husband make time for each other? Today, I have a conversation with Margie Frank. Margie is a mom of grown kids and is a ministry wife who resides in Tyler, Texas. She teaches and speaks to women’s groups and together with her husband Hixon speaks on marriage and the family. In this episode, we talk about intimacy when you are married to the minister. Yes, my friends. We’re going to talk about emotional and physical intimacy and how easy it is to live like a church volunteer in your marriage. If this lands on your thirsty heart, I pray that our conversation will be an encouragement to you.   LINKS FROM THE SHOW God, Sex, and Your Marriage by Juli Slattery Intimate Issues by Linda Dillow and Lorraine Pintus Speak Life Podcast: Marriage with Margie and Hixon Frank CONNECT Connect with Margie Instagram Connect with Amy Facebook // Instagram // Podcast Connect with NAMB Facebook // Instagram

What are some practices that you and your husband have established to help you maintain mental wellness? In this episode, Janet Dance, wife to Guidestone’s Director of Pastoral Wellness, Mark Dance, talks specifically about loving your husband through his mental health struggles. So, if you find your minister husband struggling and feel that you have to hold it all together and do so alone, I really hope this conversation will encourage you. LINKS FROM THE SHOW GuideStone “I’m a Pastor—I Was Afraid to Admit My Diagnosis” – Newsweek Article Refresh Retreats Pastoral Care Line Mental Health Resources Start to Finish: The Pastor’s Guide to Leading a Resilient Life and Ministry CONNECT Connect with Amy Facebook // Instagram // Podcast Connect with NAMB Facebook // Instagram  

How can we break away from unrealistic expectations in parenting that either others have set for us or we have set for ourselves? In this episode, I talk with Jeannie Cunnion. She is a preacher’s kid and understands what it’s like growing up in a ministry setting. She has five boys and has written some really beautiful grace-filled books about parenting, my favorite of which is Mom Set Free. If you are a mom who feels the “pressure to get it all right,” this conversation will meet you where you are, and I pray it will encourage you.  LINKS FROM THE SHOW Mom Set Free CONNECT Connect with Jeannie Instagram // Website Connect with Amy Facebook // Instagram // Podcast Connect with NAMB Facebook // Instagram

As ministry wives, how can we walk alongside families with disabilities in our church and community? In this episode, Missie Branch talks about special needs families in the church. Missie shares her firsthand experience and their story, which is so impactful for families like theirs and for all ministry wives who serve those families in the church. So, if you are looking to support families with special needs or if you are a ministry wife who feels left out, this episode is for you. LINKS FROM THE SHOW Guided Prayer Journal (For Teen Girls) by Missie Branch Stand for Life CONNECT Connect with Missie Instagram // Website Connect with Amy Facebook // Instagram // Podcast Connect with NAMB Facebook // Instagram

How do you navigate healthy rhythms of home life and ministry simultaneously? In this episode, I had the privilege of chatting with Tara Dew. She has loved Jesus for as long as she can remember, growing up in a Christian home and meeting her husband in the church youth group. This is such an encouraging and helpful conversation that gives some practical tips to get started with developing healthy rhythms within your home and ways to engage your kids to participate. So, if you look around your house discontented and see all the clutter and don’t know what to do about it, this episode is for you. LINKS FROM THE SHOW Ministry Training and Equipping – Past Ministry Wives Episode Prepare Her CONNECT Connect with Tara Facebook // Book Connect with Amy Facebook // Instagram // Podcast Connect with NAMB Facebook // Instagram

How do you encourage your kids to share Jesus in creative ways that are authentic to them? In this episode, Catherine Renfro, the National Director of Women’s Evangelism at the North American Mission Board, shares creative ways to weave evangelism into your kids’ lives. If you are a ministry wife who talks about Jesus at your church and to your church people but don’t know how to with your kids, we hope you’ll find encouragement in this conversation. CONNECT Connect with Catherine Facebook // Instagram Connect with Amy Facebook // Instagram // Podcast Connect with NAMB Facebook // Instagram  

How do you manage ministry and your family during busy (or even just normal) seasons of life? In this episode, we chat with Aimee Joseph, a church-planting wife in California and a mom to three sons. She discusses ways to manage chaotic family life in a ministry family. It’s so easy to get swallowed up in the chaos, especially when it seems like life will never slow down. Aimee shares some great practical ways to enjoy the crazy chaos of a “full” life. LINKS FROM THE SHOW Knowing What Needs are Yours to Meet – Past Ministry Wives Episode Demystifying Decision-Making by Aimee Joseph You are Secure: Devotions for When Life Feels Uncertain by Aimee Joseph CONNECT Connect with Aimee Instagram // Blog Connect with Amy Facebook // Instagram // Podcast Connect with NAMB Facebook // Instagram

How do you discern the fine line between speaking up and remaining quiet with your kids as they are adulting? In this episode, Christine Hoover, the Women’s Ministry Associate at The Austin Stone Community Church’s Northwest congregation in Austin, Texas, shares insights on navigating the delicate balance of sharing information about your family while serving in ministry. Christine shares practical advice from her current season in life, guiding you on how to balance being honest about your struggles as a mom and being wise with how much you share about your kid’s life. LINKS FROM THE SHOW You are Not Forgotten by Christine Hoover Practical Wisdom for Serving with Brothers in the Church (an interview with Amy Petersen) CONNECT Connect with Christine Facebook // Instagram // Books Connect with Amy Facebook // Instagram // Podcast Connect with NAMB Facebook // Instagram

In this Season 4 finale episode of the Ministry Wives Podcast, sit down with my husband Kyle Hoover and me for another Q & A episode. We wanted to give you more details following our episode with the Mandrells. We share about how God transformed our marriage during the COVID season, how that time served as a catalyst for my new book, as well as how God has been walking with us during our current trial with one of our children.     QUOTES “I would say we did push through, but at the same time I think we gave ourselves permission to not do some of the things that we normally would’ve done, and that’s okay. And, we pushed through with community. We had people who knew what we were going through and knew that we needed prayer and space and encouragement. We didn’t just push through isolated.” -Christine Hoover “I think what I enjoyed about the book is that it’s not just a fairytale; it’s a story of trusting the Lord in the midst and believing that God will take

Wisely navigating relationships between men and women is a vital but sometimes difficult conversation we need to be having with one another and our husbands. In this follow-up episode, long-time ministry wife and Ministry Wife Ministry Partner Amy Petersen helps walk us through the specifics of wisely cultivating these relationships. She stresses the importance of open communication regarding boundaries and how personality and baggage play into those boundaries. Amy and Christine also discuss the role of spiritual health and how it is critical to employing wisdom and discernment in this area.   SHOW NOTES Create boundaries that both you and your husband are comfortable with. Assessing your spiritual health/maturity is critical for navigating these areas wisely.  If you do have concerns regarding a relationship, lay them out before the Lord and ask Him for wisdom and then have a conversation with your husband. QUOTES “There’s just really no set equation for how it should look. I think that it

The Lord gifts each of us and our spouses so differently, and sometimes those giftings require sacrifices of different kinds as we respond to the call of the Lord in a given season. Singer/songwriter Caroline Cobb joins me today to describe her husband’s volunteer position as a lay elder at their church and how she supports him and the local church through that ministry.  SHOW NOTES Though a lay elder is unpaid, their time is invaluable and vital to the health of the church.  As a lay elder’s wife, wisdom needs to be employed to balance supporting your husband as he counsels others but also maintaining privacy of those walking through trials.  You can support your elder husband and your church through consistent prayer. QUOTES “I think when he is sharing with me what he needs support in. So I might not know all the details of a marriage that’s falling apart or who it even is, but I know that there’s a marriage falling apart and that he’s ministering to them. He won’t share

Walking into a church for the first time can be a very scary experience for newcomers. Sometimes it feels just as scary for us to approach and invite them into our circle. Pastor’s wife, author, and podcaster Jen Oshman shares her practical tips for creating a culture of welcome within the church. Jen tells us how welcome helped draw her to Christ, reminds us who Jesus says our primary family truly is, and encourages us to embrace the awkward in welcome culture.  SHOW NOTES Treat those who are alone or new in your church with urgency. Stop what you’re doing and intentionally draw them in. Ask God during the week, “Who do you want me to have eyes to see this Sunday?” Set a tone of welcome among the leaders in your church, and make the hard choice to choose welcoming newcomers over spending time with friends on Sundays.  QUOTES “Welcome is so much more than a greeting. I need to genuinely go toward people and welcome them not just to Sunday morning, but maybe to my home after church, maybe to anothe

We live in a broken world full of pain and suffering. We are bound to suffer trauma and grief; how do we navigate that pain as believers? Pastor’s wife, writer and podcaster Danielle Kelly joins the show today to share how God invited her into biblical lament as a lifestyle and how choosing to trust God’s character in the process transformed her life and relationship with Him. SHOW NOTES Biblical lament is more than crying aloud with your grief; it’s grieving with a purpose that draws you into deeper trust in God.  On the other side of entering lament with Jesus is beauty, joy, and new growth. Embrace lament as a lifestyle that will ebb and flow throughout your life. Make space for it whenever it arrives.  QUOTES “One of the things that God started to show me is that lament is beautiful because I was scared of it. I said ‘Okay, I see you inviting me into this, but I feel like it’s a dark pit that I can’t see the other side of, and I don’t know what’s at the bottom of

On this special episode of the Ministry Wives Podcast, Christine hands the microphone over to Lynley and Ben Mandrell as special guest hosts. Christine and Kyle open up about a very vulnerable time in their life and marriage, the lessons God taught them, and the book that was born out of that season, “You Are Not Forgotten,” out April 23. QUOTES “I think the main thing I learned was that God really does see me, and that’s why I wrote this book. These truths are holding me now as we’re going through a whole different season of suffering. I have not doubted God in our current suffering because I know what He did for me when I felt so buried, He saw me and He pulled me out.” -Christine Hoover “One thing I learned in that time was that I often thought about ministry as outside of my home, meaning other people that are not in my family. I thought of my kids as part of my ministry, but I rarely thought about Kyle as my ministry, and we just did not carve out time for one another.  But

In theory, we should always desire to serve God in ministry to honor and obey him, but in practice, we may sometimes find ourselves struggling with our motivations in ministry. We struggle with what we think we “should” do, wanting to please others, even wanting recognition for our service. Pastor’s wife Krissie Inserra shares how God has worked on the motivations of her heart in the last 16 years of their Tallahassee church plant. Krissie explains how God has taught her who He created her to be and how she recognizes the different seasons of life God has placed her. She also shares the importance of frequent heart checks, ridding her heart of glory-seeking motivations.  SHOW NOTES Don’t fall prey to people pleasing behaviors. Ask God how He has gifted you and serve in those areas.  Be aware of what season you are in. You may be called to operate in a lot of ministry in church or you may be called to operate in ministry heavily within your home.  Regularly check your heart. Prideful motivations of wantin

God calls us to serve in so many different ministry contexts. Sometimes we’ll be called to serve in large spaces with hundreds of people, and sometimes God calls us into small environments with less than 10. Church planting wife Wendy Ortiz shares her experiences serving in small churches both in the US and Puerto Rico. She explains the joys and challenges of small environments, including God’s work in her heart regarding letting go of control.  SHOW NOTES Small churches allow a family-like atmosphere as well as an unearthing of gifts that may be overlooked in larger churches.  Don’t fall into the comparison trap. God will decide how big He wants your church to be. Focus on being a faithful steward.  Encourage your husband, celebrate every victory, and be intentional about connecting with other church planting wives.  QUOTES “What would I say to myself? God is going to do what He wants to do. Don’t worry. Just be obedient, do what He calls you to do and help your husband and don’t be a

As believers and ministry wives, we will experience times of spiritual dryness, times where we struggle to experience the truth of God’s presence in our daily lives, times where our spiritual walk feels stagnant and emotionless. We live in a world full of distraction and fatigue; the battle to focus on Christ is ever present.  Author, mother, and pastor’s wife Kristen Wetherell has experienced times of spiritual dryness in her own walk and joins us today to share her story. Kristen shines light on some symptoms of spiritual dryness to be on the alert for, as well as how to navigate those seasons with Christ and community at the forefront.  SHOW NOTES In times of spiritual dryness, choose community and confession rather than shame and isolation.  Symptoms of the beginnings of spiritual dryness can include distraction, discouragement, physical fatigue, ministry burnout, or temptation engagement. Discipline and desire go hand in hand. The more we discipline ourselves spiritually, the more we begin to desire

There is no escaping the reality that women within our church will experience the loss of their spouse at some point in their lives. The Bible instructs us to take care of widows, but how do we practically live that out? Melissa Swain lost her pastor husband Chris unexpectedly in 2021 and joins the podcast to tell her story. Melissa shares how specific help, inclusion, and an admission of the hard has helped her and her children navigate in their new world.   SHOW NOTES Try to be specific in your offers of help (mowing the lawn, picking up groceries) rather than asking “What can I do for you?” Even though they might not always be able to attend or give input, continue providing opportunities for fellowship and ministry as you did before.  When you don’t know what to say, don’t avoid reaching out. It’s okay to simply say, “I love you and I don’t know what to say.” QUOTES “I understand the statistic that 50% of widows leave their church. Their person that they walk in with, sit with, go to classes w