Greetings all,
As you've probably noticed we've been dedicating this month to the great 'not so secret' work the women of the Geneva Push network have been doing. We'd encourage you to take a look, benefit from their wisdom, and even get some ideas as to what you might be doing in your church.
At the top of the list is a great webinar from Cathie Heard and Renae Godden about how to keep friendship alive when ministry takes you away or takes up all your time.
Renae has also just joined Geneva as a regular blogger and her first entry, We're not running alone, in which she reflects how important it is for church planting couples to remember they're not the only ones sacrificing. Stay tuned for Cathie Heard's first blog of a four part series on Alignment and Partnership as wives work out the very many positions they can occupy in a growing church plant.
While you're waiting, though, take a look at Cathie's Six Hints for Church Planting Wives, a video from Multiply13 in which she talks about the key lessons she learned from those early years, and also the question time that follows.
Speaking of new team members, Craig Tucker is joining Geneva Push as our new Coaching Director (more on that to come!) and he and his wife Cathy make up another experienced and wise church planting team. At Refresh14, our conference for blessing and sustaining church planting couples, Cathy and Craig shared An Honest Marriage of Ministry and Marriage – their insights about how to keep a marriage and family healthy under the extreme pressures that ministry can bring. You can also listen to another excellent talk from our network's relationship experts, Kim and Scott Parry-Jones. Their talk Stopping the Wobble is a practical workshop on stopping those little problems that can end up generating real strains in a marriage if left untended.
Finally this month, we're being blessed by a selection of gifted women and guest bloggers from Anglican Deaconness Ministries who have some great insights to offer on the sorts of issues a church planting wife is expected to take in her stride:
- Resilience: All About Relationship – Counsellor Jenny Brown talks about building in resilience to ministry through relationships.
- Risky Hospitality – Anglican chaplain Kate Bradford talks about the importance of hospitality and the doors it may open
- Heart and Maps – Journalist and long-time ministry worker Robyn Powell talks about the simple truths of pastoral care that can turn even the smallest opportunity into a valuable connection
We hope all of the above inspire, equips and unleashes you for ministry!
– Ed.
