Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. ~ I Corinthians 16:19

READING: Romans 6:3, 4

Even if your wife has received a personalized call to church planting, how that translates into ministry may vary widely.

Here’s my story as example. I gave birth to our first child shortly before we launched our first church.

I assumed I should follow Priscilla’s example to take a very active role within our new church and be busier than our busiest volunteer.

It took me awhile to realize that although we usually needed more workers than we had, and even though, like Priscilla, I had plenty of ministry experience, my top priority needed to be to provide a stable home for Jim and our new baby.

Many others could teach Sunday school or hand out flyers.

But nobody else was in my unique position to support and love Jim, to give him a hot meal, a warm bed and a sympathetic ear.

In time I became comfortable with my unique support role, and evaluated every potential new commitment within the church in light of its impact on my ability to take good care of Jim and our children.

I also learned to periodically reassess my commitments in light of the changing needs of our growing family.

When our sons were toddlers, they consumed most of my time, but after they went to school, it freed up time that I could in good conscience spend doing more overt ministry.

I still admire Priscilla, but now see that her biggest contribution was to provide a safe haven within which ministry could blossom.

Dear Father, Please make our home and our marriage an ongoing source of blessing. Amen.

Dionne Carpenter