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Lifeway ‘date nights’ nurture pastors & wives
Aaron Wilson, LifeWay Christian Resources
February 19, 2019
4 MIN READ TIME

Lifeway ‘date nights’ nurture pastors & wives

Lifeway ‘date nights’ nurture pastors & wives
Aaron Wilson, LifeWay Christian Resources
February 19, 2019

More than 80 ministry couples got a jumpstart on Valentine’s Day as LifeWay Christian Resources held a Pastor Date Night Feb. 12 at its downtown headquarters.

The event marked the 38th Pastor Date Night hosted by LifeWay the past four years in 19 states and Canada.

Mark Dance, director of LifeWay Pastors, and his wife Janet host Pastor Date Nights to help leaders develop healthy marriages and tackle questions specific to couples in ministry.

Photo by Aaron Wilson

Mark Dance, right, director of LifeWay Pastors, and his wife Janet – joined by Mike Glenn, pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church, and his wife Jeannie – answer questions texted in anonymously by ministry couples at the Pastor Date Night hosted Feb. 12 by LifeWay Christian Resources.

“Vocational ministry is the only profession on the planet that requires people to win at both work and home,” Mark told attendees at the Feb. 12 gathering. “It’s in our 2,000-year-old job description that if we’re to manage our church, we have to manage our home. We want to help you win at both.”

The Pastor Date Night at LifeWay was held in partnership with the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board (TBMB) and six metro Nashville Baptist associations.

“Pastor Date Night was a great opportunity to show these couples that they’re loved, appreciated and valued,” said Steve Holt, TBMB church services director. “It was a blessing to see the interaction between couples around the tables, to hear the laughter and to witness the transparency of panelists as they shared from the stage.”

Pastor Date Nights are driven by a formula that involves fellowship, a complementary meal and the opportunity to ask anonymous questions to a panel of seasoned ministry couples via text messaging.

“That’s probably the most significant part of the whole event,” Dance said. “The wallflower in the corner has just as much a voice as the extrovert on the front row.”

Before texting in questions, couples enter a dining area set up as a date atmosphere with music playing in the background. Round tables invite guests to mingle and develop new friendships as dinner is served.

“After about 45 minutes, I’ll introduce the panel, which consists of Janet, me and another couple or two in ministry,” Dance said. “I let them know we’re not here to talk about growing their church but about growing them personally. We’re here to help them get healthy and stay healthy.”

At the Feb. 12 event, the Dances were joined by Mike Glenn, pastor of the Nashville-area Brentwood Baptist Church, and his wife Jeannie. The two couples tackled questions attendees anonymously texted such as:

  • How do you balance church work and marriage?

  • What are some healthy pastor marriage habits?

  • How open should you be with your spouse about church conflict?

  • How do you take a day off with all the challenges of ministry?

  • What’s the hardest part about being a pastor’s wife?

Photo by Aaron Wilson

LifeWay Christian Resources hosted a Pastor Date Night for more than 80 ministry couples on Feb. 12 at LifeWay's headquarters in downtown Nashville.

“It’s important for pastors’ wives to have their questions answered candidly by people who understand them,” Janet Dance said. “[Being a pastor’s wife] is a life with unique challenges as well as blessings. A pastor’s wife is very hesitant to share among people who don’t understand this life.”

As LifeWay Pastors events have gained traction across the country, Baptist associations, conventions and seminaries have all partnered with LifeWay to host Pastor Date Nights and Pastor Roundtables – seminary luncheons that include a panel discussion. By the end of 2019, all six SBC seminaries and the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary in Alberta will have hosted at least one LifeWay Pastors event.

“Seminaries are a crucial key to our strategy of pastoral care,” Dance said. “We also want couples to know early in their ministry that LifeWay cares about their lives and families, as well as their ministries.”

The next Pastor Roundtable will be at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 4. The next Pastor Date Night will in Indianapolis on April 5.

To see all 2019 LifeWay Pastors offerings, visit FactsAndTrends.net/events.

(EDITOR’S NOTE – Aaron Wilson is a writer for LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.)