Partners in the Gospel: 50 Meditations for Pastors’ and Elders’ Wives

by Megan Hill

While every situation is unique, the wives of church leaders have much in common--and much need for support. Author, speaker, and pastor's wife Megan Hill writes with empathy and encouragement as she brings you to the source of true refreshment: the Word of God. Whether you are new to being an elder's wife or have been in that role for decades, you know what joys and challenges can fill your days. In fifty short devotional meditations, Megan focuses on your heart, home, church, and community, rejoicing in God's blessings and equipping you to face the challenges. Each day's reading also includes application suggestions for reflection, prayer, and action. You may choose to read this book from cover-to-cover in fifty days. Or you may simply keep it on your shelf or nightstand, ready for those times when you need to be reminded that the Lord knows your situation and that he is unfailingly good.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Marriage, Devotional, Theology

152 pages, Hardcover

Published April 7, 2021

About the author

Megan Hill is a pastor’s wife and a pastor’s daughter who has spent her life praying with others. She serves on the editorial board for Christianity Today and is a regular contributor to Her.meneutics and the Gospel Coalition.

Reviews

[Hillary Blatherwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

HIGHLY recommend for any pastor or elders wife. Encouraging& convicting. She understands the demands and joys of being in ministry and makes you feel understood and seen. 5 stars!!!

[Lisa London · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much wisdom within these pages. As a pastor's wife somewhat new into ministry life, this book offered me encouragement and insight into so many areas of serving a church. From where to turn in moments of loneliness, being far from family, to losing church members, to hospitality, she covers it all and brings it back to Christ at every opportunity.

[Joan Douglass · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book refreshes my elder's-wife heart! I read one devotional every Saturday night or Sunday morning to help strengthen me in grace and truth before church on Sunday. Bless Megan Hill for writing it!

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elders’ wives can face some unique challenges in the church, and we need to have a correct biblical mindset lest we succumb to discouragement, burn out, or worse. Difficulties will come. Megan Hill puts it well in the section of this book entitled “When You Are Home Alone--Again”:

“Elders’ wives have to sacrifice their husbands in dozens of ways. We give up our demands on their time to elders’ meetings, home visits, and sermon or Bible-study preparation--which often come at the end of an already long work day. We give up our demands on their attention to text messages, phone calls, and a long line of people who are waiting for them after church. We give up our demands on their emotional energy to what Paul calls ‘the daily pressure…[of] anxiety for all the churches’ (2 Cor. 11:28). Sometimes it’s enough to make you want to cry.” (100)

So if elders’ wives will face challenges, what is the solution? They need to be able to fall back on the truths of God’s Word--and that means knowing what God’s Word says. Megan Hill’s book strives to help in this area through 50 short meditations (2-3 pages each) organized into four topical areas--heart, home, church, and community. Each meditation addresses either a joy or a challenge for elders’ wives in these areas and includes relevant portions of Scripture, some reflection questions, suggested topics for prayer, and application.

Many of the truths reviewed in this book will be familiar to its audience, but there is something particularly encouraging about hearing them applied by someone who has experienced similar trials and temptations. With 50 meditations not every topic will be relevant to every reader--but a good way to tackle the book might be to read all of the “Joys” in order to be reminded of things you may have grown dull to, and to pick and choose which “Challenges” feel most relevant (the chapter titles are descriptive enough to clue you in).

If there is a criticism I might give of this book, it’s that 2-3 pages isn’t enough to address some of the topics. Some, such as “When You Are Snared in Sin,” are really just too complex for that amount of pages. Other topics struck such a chord that I longed to read more. It is what it is, and I understand that the organization of the book demanded brevity for each topic; my hope is that more will be written (perhaps by Megan Hill!) geared towards the encouragement of elders’ wives. In the meantime, I recommend this excellent book as refreshing, real, and faithful to Scripture.

[Alena Wiebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an encouraging read, as she goes through the joys and challenges of being an Elders wife. Each chapter is relevant, and gospel centered. I’m thankful for the wisdom from ladies that have walked this path before and understand the challenges, but also the incredible hope and encouragement we have when we look to Christ through it all!

[Megan Triplett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! Practical, helpful and biblical. Thankful to be able to read through it with other elder’s wives. Highly recommend!

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, thoughtful readings.

[Sarah Opgenorth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall really encouraging. Gift it to any pastor’s wife you know.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

So encouraging. I greatly enjoyed this book. The format was perfect, I loved the Bible tie-ins for each chapter, her personal stories were relatable and not too lengthy, she sounded like a friend sitting by me. Highly recommend if your husband is in ministry.

[Lexi Zuo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this devotional so much! It’s filled to the brim with gospel encouragement for elders’ and pastor’s wives. I’ve already given it as a gift three times. Highly recommend!

[Amber Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this devotional. I used it as a prayer guide the last 50 days, so I would read that days devotional and then go through the ACTS praying method to pray through items that it talked about. I really appreciated all the different aspects it talked about and it did a great job of focusing on what God’s word said about each aspect. Each day included a scripture verse(s), a devotional about it, and a reflect, pray, and act section.

The two warnings I have about this book are: 1. It’s written by a Presbyterian pastor’s wife, so there are a couple of times that she mentions the baptizing of children. 2. The author assumes that everyone reading this book has kids, as there were quite a few of the days that focused on being a mom or having children. I realize the majority of the women in the world have kids but it would have been nice to include a line or two in the devo for those who don’t have kids and how that particular aspect of ministry can still relate to them.

She ends the book with these sweet reminders: “Christ knows you, and he also knows what he is asking of you. Making disciples is a task that requires the church to sacrifice and to suffer. We who are part of an elder’s family often experience this acutely— but our Savior understands. If he calls you to face trials, they are trials that he willingly endured first. And he promises that you will not be alone. Although he ascended into the heavenly places, he leaves you with his Spirit, his Word, and his people. Through them, he instructs you, encourages you, warns you, guides you, and comforts you. Every moment of every day, Christ is near.”

All in all, it was a very encouraging, convicting, and insightful devotional!

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book.

Megan Hill opens up about the joys and challenges of being a ministry wife under the section headings of Heart, home, church and community.

So much honesty in all her examples, she continually points to scripture/christ.

50 meditations all very short and to the point, ideal for a non reader. Every one ends with ideas to reflect, pray and act.

This is a book I will lift again and again.

Buy this book for your minister's wife or your elder's wife, she will really appreciate it!

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a pastor’s wife, this book was a balm to my soul. My husband gave it to me after being away at at conference where he was encouraged and wanted to encourage me. I will not only re-read this book but have already purchased other books by Megan Hill. I bought this for our church Elders wives to be strengthened in the ministry too. May it bless you as well, dear reader!

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great nuggets of encouragement for wives of elders and pastors. I listened to this, but I think having the physical copy would be nice!! These meditations covered many everyday topics and pointed me back to scripture, truth, and the gospel. Helps remind us that this work that our husbands and our families are in is not for nothing, it’s all for the glory of God!

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I am not a pastor or elder's wife, this was a sweet read as I think about our call to minister to others - whether formal or informal - alongside what this means for our family. I appreciated the brevity as well as the reality. It is packed with Scripture, with guided prayer and journal questions, and is arranged in such a way that one could easily pick it up and put it down as needed.

[Kellie Kaminski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this simple devotional/encouraging book for pastors’ and elders’ wives. I took one section per day for 50 days. Not all the content related directly to me, but much of it did. It would make a great gift for a ministry wife!

[Kristi Cristman · Rating 3 out of 5]

i’m not a huge fan of devotionals since they often use verses without much context to the chapter and verse from which they come. this was decent, provided practical encouragement for elders wives, but i didn’t feel much depth to each day’s devotional

[Noel]

A friend told me that this was the best book she'd found for pastors'/elders' wives, and I would have to agree. It covers a wide variety of very poignant topics. I also liked the format with reflection questions and prayer prompts.

[Kelly Lindstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend for pastor and elder wives! So encouraging and refreshing, it was always good to be pointed back to our hope in Christ in the unique struggles that come in ministry. I also appreciated the reflection, prayer, and action ideas that came with each entry.

[Darcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read. Encouraging, real, humble, based in truth (God’s Word). Truly excellent!

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really, really good. Helpful, practical, and full of Scripture. This would make a great gift for a pastor's wife or elder's wife.

[Katherine Riendeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was already helpful to read and meditate on alone but I could see it as even more beneficial in a group context. I’m looking forward to discussing it with my pastor’s wife who gifted it to me!

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Encouraging and thoughtful short devotionals. This book caused me to love the local church in the midst of the joys and sorrows of pastoral ministry.

[Gabrielle Houweling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd say this book is more geared toward pastors wives than elders wives, however I still found it an encouraging read

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any woman who serves in the church in any capacity should read this book! But it is of particular help to those who serve as church officer's wives.

[Taylor Gilman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal book. Profound encouragement from Scripture & the author's experience. This book blessed me greatly. I definitely plan to reread it down the road!

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing really new, but good reminders.

[Molls Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book of meditations was a book I didn’t know I needed as a pastor’s wife. A fellow pastor’s wife got it for me and it was such a blessing! I feel seen and heard!!

[Alex Craft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gifted to me by another pastors wife. A thoughtful devotional with helpful meditations and encouragement through many different joys and challenges of being an elders wife.