Great Commission Churches

December 2009

Dear Sisters,

Every one of us is uniquely gifted by the Holy Spirit to serve in the body of Christ, for His glory. At the same time, as pastors wives we understand that our primary ministry calling is to support our husbands.

Our writer this month, Karen Haring, is incredibly talented in writing and music (and, I'm sure, in other areas of which I'm not yet aware!). In her love for Christ and her husband, Karen has used her talents in serving Tim and their church. Her focus has been on Christ and her family, not her gifts. But her gifts have been used in a powerful way through a church that ministers to several thousand people in the weekend services and to tens of thousands in their annual Passion Play.

I believe that the fruit from Karen's ministry is a direct result of her maintaining Biblical priorities-the Lord, her husband, and her children. May God use her example to inspire us to more fully serve Jesus Christ and our families as "good stewards of the manifold grace of God." (1st Peter 4:10)

In Christ,
Sandy Hopler

The Proverbs 31 Passion

by Karen Haring (Chestnut Ridge Community Church, Morgantown, West Virginia)

I've always thought of the Proverbs 31 woman as my example on how to be a helper to my husband. Obviously a great wife and mother, her various projects that could have detracted from her priorities, actually enhanced their family life even more. She made her husband's success her primary mission, and that's my goal too.

I've been involved in several ministries with our church that have helped support Tim in his role as a pastor and in his desire to reach our community. Our worship service programming and music are my serving strengths. As he and the other pastors work on their messages, we're able to mesh the music and programming to help people get the full impact. This reinforces what those pastors share even more and helps bring the message home to every heart. We also look for ways to include our kids in the ministry, and the older three have participated in various ways over the last six or seven years. It's been a joy to work together and see our kids rub shoulders with other great people doing actual ministry. It's not only a support to Tim and the church, but our kids are learning to serve others too.

Another support avenue is our yearly Easter musical, "The Passion." What started as something small many years ago has become a powerful gospel tool that creates a bridge event for our members to invite friends and family. As I look back now, I see how God was molding me to have certain experiences and abilities that could be leveraged for supporting Tim in his vision. I've also helped create the drama and directed the musical end of things. This event has really helped us have a bigger impact as a church. It's been a way for us to serve together as a family, as I've done the music, the kids have worked on stage or backstage, and Tim has spoken.

As wonderful as all this has been, there are several things I'd like to mention about pitfalls. One difficulty has been the busyness involved during the season of "The Passion." Our kids have been home-schooled and now attend public school, but during the week of "The Passion" I cancel all classes, and try to do some relaxing or "hang out" things with the kids: shopping, a movie, or going out to eat. This has helped keep us all connected and minimized the craziness of pulling off a huge production. The younger two have not been in "The Passion," but this gives them and Tim more opportunity to be together while I'm engrossed with the last week of rehearsals.

Another challenge is learning to keep a balance between what I say and don't say to Tim about differences we may have about how we do the services. Being directly involved in the worship services provides a lot of opportunities for us to talk about church things. Because we're both involved in the same area, sometimes we have differences of opinion on how things should be done. I feel I have erred on both sides-sometimes saying too much and sometimes remaining silent when I should speak. I think praying first and asking God to direct through His Spirit is always a good first step for me. I've also learned that it's often better to let others speak to Tim from a programming standpoint, than to have me bring things up all the time. Tim really values my input, and often it's easier to focus on what needs to be changed instead of the positive and encouraging points. I have too often failed to do this. I always need to be thinking about how I can encourage him and support him in what he is doing. Always encourage!

I'm very thankful for the opportunities God has given me with our church ministries. We've been able to labor together as a family and as a couple. God has answered in amazing ways as we've prayed for "The Passion" and the weekend services. It's really built our faith, reached a lot of folks in our community, and also brought them to church. And along the way, God is refining me and helping me grow in learning how to support my husband even more. I'm not exactly the Proverbs 31 woman, but she remains my example!

If you would like to respond to Karen, please contact us at info@gccweb.org, for her email address.