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 norma ..read more

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 ..read more

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 other ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 import ..read more

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.  Do ..read more

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 ..read more

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 d ..read more

Sometimes unmet expectations seem to pop up everywhere in our lives. We experience hardship or failure in life and ministry over and over again. Today, author and pastor’s wife Lisa Hughes teaches us how to reshape our thinking regarding unmet expectations. She shares that we need to not only expect the hard things, but also accept that the Lord is always doing what seems good to Him. We can find joy in the hardship while drawing closer to Jesus when faced with unmet expectations, choosing to obey Him even when it’s hard.  SHOW NOTES Identifying an unmet expectation often means identifyi ..read more