• LifeWay.com
  • Lifeway Research
  • Lifeway Newsroom
  • Media Inquiries
    • View LifewayNews’s profile on Facebook
    • View LifeWayNews’s profile on Twitter

Lifeway Newsroom

Your calling is our mission.

Lifeway Hosts Date Night for Couples in Ministry

February 18, 2019

By Aaron Wilson

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—More than 80 ministry couples got a jump-start on Valentine’s plans last week as Lifeway Christian Resources held a Pastor Date Night Feb. 12 at its downtown headquarters.

The event marked the 38th Pastor Date Night Lifeway has hosted over the course of four years in locations that span 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.

“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 event. “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 event 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, church services director at TBMB. “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, free food 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,” Mark said. “The wallflower in the corner has just as much a voice as the extrovert on the front row.”

Before sending in text 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,” Mark 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 as panelists by Mike Glenn, pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, Tenn., and his wife, Jeannie. The two couples tackled questions attendees anonymously texted in 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?

“It’s important for pastors’ wives to have their questions answered candidly by people who understand them,” Janet 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 seven SBC seminaries, including 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,” Mark 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 Event will be held at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas, on March 4. The next Pastor Date Night will be held in Indianapolis, on April 5.

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

-30-

Aaron Wilson is a writer for Lifeway Christian Resources.

Lifeway Christian Resources hosted a Pastor Date Night for more than 80 ministry couples on Feb. 12 at Lifeway’s headquarters in downtown Nashville. Photo by Aaron Wilson
Mike Glenn, pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church, and his wife, Jeannie, together with Mark Dance, director of Lifeway Pastors, and wife Janet answer questions texted in anonymously by ministry couples at the Pastor Date Night hosted by Lifeway Christian Resources. Photo by Aaron Wilson

Related

Filed Under: Corporate News, LifeWay Newsroom

Latest from the Newsroom

  • Patriotic displays common in July 4th church services
  • Lifeway summer camps give kids and students the ‘best week ever’ 
  • Pastors have clarity on same-sex marriage, not the role of LGBTQ+ people in churches
  • Lifeway’s ‘Spark Studios’ VBS album hits No. 1 on music chart
  • Mandrell shares Lifeway’s vision for serving the global church 

News Archives

@LifeWayNews on Twitter

My Tweets

Subscribe to Lifeway News

Enter your email address to subscribe to the Lifeway News feed and receive of news via email.

RSS Facts & Trends

  • How to Pass the Baton to the Next Pastor: A Q&A With Bryant Wright
  • 8 Traits of the Most Evangelistic Christians
  • How Churches Can Walk With the Sexual Abuse Survivor

LifeWay

About Us
Contact Lifeway
Careers
Licensing & Permissions
Privacy Policy

Lifeway Network:

Lifeway Research
B&H
Ridgecrest

Copyright © 2022 · Lifeway Christian Resources · All Rights Reserved