Heart to Heart – A New Column For Women in Ministry

Way back in September, when all the writers for the Grace and Honor met together, one of the topics of discussion was about new columns that we could start to make our publication more interesting and to appeal to more ladies. One that was suggested was a column for preacher and missionary wives, discussing different elements of life in the ministry. Our fearless editor laughingly remarked that I would be a good candidate to author that column, considering I was the oldest in the group and had the most experience in this area.

After getting over the hurt that she was suggesting I am old :), I began to ponder the possibilities. I know that there is a lack of good information in this area. Many years ago when my husband began to pastor his first church, I suddenly realized that it meant that I was now a pastor’s wife! Since I had not gone to seminary or even to Bible college, I went looking for books on the subject and found that they were few and far between. I think I have in my library just about every book that was ever written on the subject, and they don’t cover more than one shelf in the bookcase. And frankly, most of them are worthless. I found that the majority of them were filled with complaints by the authors of how horrible life in the ministry was for them, and all the tragic things that had happened in their lives. It was sure not much encouragement for a young pastor’s wife.

The next several months after that meeting were filled to capacity with our preparations to move to Botswana—packing, selling, and storing our belongings, our trip to Africa, getting settled in our house here, and getting things set up for the ministry. After much prayer, I feel that I am finally at a place now that I can consider writing this column.

Not that I am an expert by any means. The things that I have learned have been learned through trial and error—mostly error. And I am sure there are many things that I still need to learn. But on the other hand, I have learned a few things, and I hope that by sharing them with you, I can prevent you from making the same mistakes that I made.

So in the months to come, I look forward to sharing with you lessons that I have learned in the ministry. That is why I have chosen to name this column Heart to Heart. I am going to be sharing some thoughts with you from my heart. These are things that are near and dear to my heart. And I hope that you will take them into your heart, consider them, and benefit from them. Most of these lessons will be applicable to all ladies—not just those whose husband is in the ministry. If you have a question or a comment, feel free to share it. Or if you have something you would like to see addressed, let me know and I will consider it.

Bev

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Beverly Hammett

Beverly is a wife, mother, and grandmother. She and Doug Hammett have been married for over 35 years. Since her father was a pastor and her husband was already a pastor when she married him, she is well acquainted with the blessings as well as the problems of the ministry! Bev’s favorite things to do are read and spend time with her family.

In Autumn of 2010, Doug stepped aside from his position as senior pastor at LVBC to reach and train men in Botswana and South Africa. Beverly continues to write for our ladies publication, giving her unique perspective of life in the ministry, and now life on the mission field. You can read more about their ministry here.

Read Beverly’s articles here and her salvation testimony here.