Kari Olson is the cohost of Front Row Seat, a new video series for pastors’ wives from The Gospel Coalition. She has a heart for encouraging other pastors’ wives to live in sincerity and faithfulness to the Lord through all seasons of ministry. It’s a grace to welcome Kari to the farm’s table today…

Guest Post by Kari Olson

“You know you don’t have to sit in the front row, right?” my friend gently asked. She had heard me bemoan the fact that walking to the front of the worship center was a little inconvenient and a tad embarrassing on Sunday mornings (especially when I tend to run a few minutes late everywhere I go!)

She’s right—no one is forcing me to sit there. But I choose to. There are fewer distractions for me up there, and I can hear and see better. But mostly, I want to attend service sitting by my husband’s side. And as pastor of our church, he will be in the front row—so that’s where I will be too.

While not every pastor’s wife prefers to sit in the literal front row, we all have a figurative front-row seat to what happens in the life of our church and our pastor. This can be an exciting place, sharing in the sweetness and successes of our church body, but it can also be an isolating and lonely place.

But, we are not alone.

The front-row seat can be an exciting place, sharing in the sweetness and successes of our church body, but it can also be an isolating and lonely place.

I often text with my fellow pastor’s wife, Kristen Wetherell, about the rhythms of ministry life, as well as the joys and temptations that come with being married to a pastor.

We are hungry for conversations that encourage our devotion to the Lord, our husbands, and the church God has called us to love. Her texts are gracious words “like a honeycomb; they bring life to the body and healing to [the] bones” (Proverbs 16:24). They provide gospel fuel to persevere on the path God has asked me to walk.

Are you also a pastor’s wife who needs encouragement to persevere?

Kristen and I have partnered with The Gospel Coalition to create a space for this community through a 10-episode video series called “Front Row Seat: Encouragement for Pastors’ Wives.” When you watch this series, you can expect to hear biblical encouragement from other pastors’ wives who are thoughtfully and faithfully trying to live out their role—just like you!

Kristen and I bring our own stories and questions to our conversation with guests who speak into various topics with wisdom and hope.

And yet, I struggled to feel this reality, to rejoice, to praise—to feel much of anything besides dry and flat. I longed to feel close to God again. That was the hardest part.

Let’s face it, we need to know how to raise our children in the church and how to navigate friendships. And would it surprise the people around you to know that your marriage is struggling or your devotions are dry? We need a dialogue of hope to bravely face these circumstances.

In our first episode, “Walking with God,” Kristen begins with a confession: “I was walking through what I would describe as a dry season, or maybe even a form of spiritual depression. It was winter, our family had been sick for months on end, and I felt isolated and lonely. God felt distant. Not that he seemed cold or angry—I knew he wasn’t—I knew he was good and near to me. And yet, I struggled to feel this reality, to rejoice, to praise—to feel much of anything besides dry and flat. I longed to feel close to God again. That was the hardest part. But the second-hardest was navigating how I expressed this struggle to others in our church, especially my small group. I’m the pastor’s wife. Will this freak them out or disappoint them? Aren’t I supposed to have my spiritual life ‘together’? How can I support them when I’m struggling to walk with God myself?”

Kristen’s confession led to a conversion with Joanna Kubiak, a pastor’s wife who understands the importance of nurturing your personal relationship with God simply because he loves you, for “in his presence there is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11).

You’ll also hear from Jen Carter, pastor’s wife to Matt Carter. Jen talks with us about Sunday mornings in her episode, “Navigating Sunday Mornings”, reminding us that they are the culmination of a worshipful week and preparation for the one ahead. We ask her about finding rest when Sundays can feel like work.

We are hungry for conversations that encourage our devotion to the Lord, our husbands, and the church God has called us to love.

In the episode “Loving and Serving the Church,” Megan Hill comforts the pastor’s wife who feels left behind in ministry, even when it inconveniences her own family.

From decades of experience, Jani Ortlund encourages us to have the right perspective in her episode on “Engaging God’s Calling and People’s Expectations.” She gently instructs us about our own incredibly high standards and others’ critique, and how Jesus’s heart is kind and gentle toward us, even when others (or ourselves) are not. 

Susan Yates, a pastor’s wife of more than 50 years, helps us think through what it looks like to walk alongside a husband who is hurting, discouraged, or depressed in the episode “Supporting Our Husbands.” Her wise counsel is anchored in the ever present hope we have in Christ.

These conversations were created to encourage you, pastor’s wife, and to remind you of your true identity in Christ Jesus, and to spur you on with hope.

Our goal for “Front Row Seat” is to have honest, Christ-centered conversations that leave you feeling a renewed sense of joy and hope in who God is and what he is doing in, around, and through you.

Whether you are a seasoned pastor’s wife or just starting out in ministry, we would love for you to join us in this series and be encouraged. We’ve saved you a front-row seat!