Introducing The Married and Replanting Podcast

I have shared here on the blog that a decade ago back in December my husband accepted the call to become the pastor of a small church in Southern New Mexico. What we weren’t entirely prepared for was walking into a church revitalization/replant situation.

Over the course of the last 9 or so months we have already had our fair share of trials, and stressors, as well as some pretty amazing joys and triumphs. Pair it all with the struggles that have come with COVID-19 I will say that this has been an incredible learning season.

When we made the decision that we would be accepting the position at New Life Baptist Fellowship the first thing I did was begin to look for resources to help me navigate this new stage of life. The thing I found was that when it comes to support, encouragement, and how to’s of replant pastor’s wife life…well…it is sorely lacking. What we did find were a handful of books for replant pastors, a couple podcasts dedicated to discussion on the topic, and some articles on the North American Mission Board website. The one thing that is available when it comes to being the wife of a church revitalizer/replanter is the Replanter Wives facebook group.

That is it.

I’m not going to lie. It is a more than a little discouraging to know there is not as much in the way of support and guidance and encouragement when it comes to being the wife in ministry. There is very little for ministry wives to begin with an nothing at all for those of us in the trenches of revitalization and replanting. When we are in seminary we hear all about how if your husband is called into the ministry then you both are called into the ministry. So why are we not writing more books and producing more resources for what it means to be in that position? It is a trend I am working toward fixing but the truth is I have no idea what I am doing any more than the next person does so it is taking some time to get that off the ground.

However, the one thing that Dusty and I have done is launched a podcast focusing somewhat on this area of ministry. Introducing: The Married and Replanting Podcast.

So what is The Married and Replanting Podcast all about?

I am so glad you asked. This is a weekly podcast dedicated to being real when it comes to life in the ministry of replanting and revitalization while also making sure we aren’t neglecting our first ministry priority: our marriage and our family.

We have hopes that throughout the course of this process we can share some insights into the things that are working for us and more importantly the things that aren’t really working all that well that we can improve on. We hope to invite guests who are in the trenches with us to share in the conversations from time to time. And we will continue to provide the resources that are helping us to be encouraged, strengthened, and challenged in our ministry journey.

So I hope that you will join in and take a listen. Leave us a comment, a question, a thought, or even just say hi along they way.

Ep. 030: Small Groups and Community Outreach – The Married and Replanting Podcast

Church is so much more than just being in the building on Sunday morning to hear the pastor preach. One of the great parts of being a member of the local body of believers is the opportunity to gather together throughout the week for continued growth and fellowship. It is also a great way to get out into the community. This week Dusty and Elizabeth discuss launching small group studies throughout the week as a way for the members of the church to fellowship and grow together. They also discuss ways to be reaching out to the community to fill needs on little to no budget. Grab a cup of coffee or tea, and join us as we discuss ways to launch small group ministries and how to reach out to the community with the resources you have. Resources mentioned in today's episode are: A Guide to Flake's Formula Have a question about church replanting, marriage, or just life in general? Want to share a comment about how we are doing or things you would like to hear on the podcast? Send us a message, leave a note on our social media feeds, or leave a rating and review and we would love to discuss the things that will most benefit you in your marriage and ministry. Follow us on all our social media platforms to be sure you never miss a new episode. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarriedandReplanting Twitter: https://twitter.com/RpodcastM