Survey of Ministers’ Wives: Executive Summary

The spouse of a pastor strongly influences, and is strongly influenced by, their mate’s ministry. The role that goes with this relationship seems more demanding and more important than the spouse’s role in most other professions. Yet formal training and special resources are relatively rare. Also relatively rare are studies which examine the needs of pastors’ wives.

When life is in balance and you feel great, things around you usually appear rosy and straight forward. If, however, you have lost your energy, you are stressed to the max, your life is pulled in multiple directions, your sex life is non existent, your sleep is restless and tormented with hot flashes, and you have difficulty making even simple decisions that previously came easily, you might be experiencing perimenopause or even true menopause. Some or most of these symptoms are experienced by the majority of women between 45 and 55 years of age. Approximately 50 per cent of women go through these phases of life with mild to moderate effect on their daily life. Another 25 per cent will have only minor symptoms and about 25 per cent will have symptoms that greatly interrupt their life and sometimes the life of those around them.