Eyes on the Arizona Mission Offering: The importance of a gift for pastors & wives
By Lori Pruit | Aug 1, 2023
2021 Pastors & Wives Retreat
A fun and well known quote says, “Life can be so daily.”
For a pastor and his wife, life in the ministry, as wonderful and fulfilling as it is, can be “daily”!
As Arizona Southern Baptists, we have an unique avenue to help our leaders. Through our gifts to the Arizona Mission Offering, we can provide pastors and wives with a way to “relax, refresh, and recharge“ in the daily call to ministry.
The Pastors & Wives Retreat is just one of eight avenues through which our Arizona Mission Offering undergirds ministries through Arizona Southern Baptists.
“We are so grateful for the way Arizona Southern Baptist church members give to this ministry,” said David Johnson, executive director of the Arizona Mission Network of Southern Baptists. “We believe the Pastors & Wives Retreat is a priority for the pastor’s health, marriage strength, and their ability to lead the church well.”
The Pastors & Wives Retreat will be held next summer, July 11-13, at The Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park.
Ben and Lynley Mandrell
In a recent interview, David spoke to the 2024 retreat speakers, Ben and Lynley Mandrell. Ben is a former pastor and the current president of LifeWay Christian Resources. Together, they host a popular podcast, “The Glass House.”
Ben and Lynley discussed their understanding of the importance of couples attending a pastor and wife retreat.
“As ministry leaders we are always fixing things in our work. To come to a retreat and be in the same room together where others are experiencing the same criticisms, the same hardships, the same financial strains … is really valuable,” Ben said.
The strength of connection was further explained in a simple concept.
“Pastors understand pastors. And pastors’ wives, understand pastors’ wives. It’s valuable to get them together in the same room,” Ben said.
Concerning personal advice on marriage and relationships, Ben explained that couples will be married to several people in their lifetime.
2021 Pastors & Wives Retreat
“As life, jobs, and children change us, we become different people,” he said. “Real love means adapting and evolving as your spouse does.”
Lynley added, “The conversation is the relationship. If you can’t have deep hard conversations, then you cannot understand how confrontation can be positive.“
The couple pointed out that becoming healthy in these areas not only helps the marriage, but also the pastor and his wife in their relationship to the church.
David continued with that thought.
“I find [the retreat] to be one of the most important things we do for our pastors and wives … as a network,” he said.
In Arizona, the fields are white. There is a lot of work to be done, but our church leaders may occasionally need a moment to “refresh, relax, and recharge.”.
2021 Pastors & Wives Retreat
As we open our eyes to the opportunity given to us, let us invest in the wonderful pastors and wives that have been sent to work the harvest. We will never be disappointed as God uses our gifts to
Him through the Arizona Mission Offering.
Learn more about the Arizona Mission Offering at azsbc.org/amo
Lori Pruit, a freelance writer living in Casa Grande, is a member of Pinal County Cowboy Church, Casa Grande.