For 17 years Megan Hill has been married to a PCA pastor. She’s learned that the wives of pastors and ruling elders need encouragement as they serve the church and support their husbands.

ByFaith spoke with Hill about her new devotional book, “Partners in the Gospel: 50 Meditations for Pastors’ and Elders’ Wives,” which was released in April.

Why write a book for elders’ wives?

A few years ago, at a conference, I facilitated a panel for pastors’ and elders’ wives, and the onslaught of questions from the audience affirmed that ministry wives often feel alone and unsure of their role in the church. Afterward, one of P&R’s (Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing) editors approached me about writing a book to encourage these women.

“It’s the kind of book I hope pastors’ and elders’ wives will turn to when they’re weary. I want them to remember they’re not alone. Their struggles are seen and known, not only to me, but to Christ Himself.”

I’ve been a PCA teaching elder’s wife for 17 years; before that I was a PCA pastor’s daughter. I know firsthand many of the joys and challenges of being part of a pastor’s family, but as I worked on this book, I also spent time listening to ruling elders’ wives and hearing their experiences. I think both groups of women need refreshment as they pour out their lives for the sake of the church.

What’s unique about being married to an elder?

In the introduction, I talk about how the Administrative Committee gives my husband an ID card that declares him to be “a minister in good standing.” Everywhere he goes, he has this card, proving what his role in the church is. Pastors’ and elders’ wives don’t have a card. Our role is harder to define: We are ordinary church members and also something slightly different. In addition to struggles in our hearts and homes, we have what Paul called “the daily pressure … [of] anxiety for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:28) and the constant burden to see Christ proclaimed in our communities. But alongside that, we get a front row seat to the kingdom’s advance. Ministry life is challenging. It’s also a privilege. And people don’t always understand that.

How do you hope to encourage and exhort elders’ wives?

There are plenty of books about how to be a pastor’s wife, but I wanted to give refreshment to them. Each of the book’s 50 meditations reflects on a different passage of Scripture, and those verses are the true source of encouragement.

It’s the kind of book I hope pastors’ and elders’ wives will turn to when they’re weary. I want them to remember they’re not alone. Their struggles are seen and known, not only to me, but to Christ Himself. It’s also a book I hope points to the joy of serving Christ and His church. Ministry life has unique challenges, but it also has incomparable joys, and I want to delight in and give thanks for those.