While her husband pursued a four-year Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Kate Meadows wondered how she fit into the process of her husband becoming a pastor. In the Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod, only men can be ordained as pastors. The men who come to the seminary have a well-paved road ahead of them. The women who come with those men don’t. As women, we ask ourselves, “Who am I in this process?” and “Where do I fit?”
Kate never envisioned herself as a pastor’s wife; in fact, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be one. Yet, if God was leading her husband into the ministry, who was she to say “No?”
And what was it about that term “pastor’s wife,” that made her uneasy, anyway? What did it even mean to be a pastor’s wife in the modern day?
At the seminary, Kate started talking to other women who had faithfully followed their husbands on the path to ministry. Through a series of more than fifty interviews, she learned that the journey of becoming a pastor’s wife is rich with questions, discovery, and joy.
Faith to Follow chronicles the woman’s experience of preparing to become a pastor’s wife. It also may be a springboard for dialogue within churches across America, about the importance of encouraging and cultivating future church leaders and raising up strong families in the Christian faith.
by Kate Meadows