Partners In Ministry (PIM) was established at North Park Theological Seminary to care for the families of students attending the seminary.  With roots dating nearly as far back as the seminary itself we enjoy the benefit of a rich history of spouses and families heading into ministry.  But here’s the thing, families need support before, during and after seminary.  It’s no joke that being a pastor’s or church staff member’s family in ministry can be hard and that’s why North Park PIM is partnering with the ECC to launch CovChurchPIM.

North Park Theological Seminary has had various support groups for students’ spouses over it’s long history. To this end, a generous endowment was created in the early 1990’s by what was then called “Covenant Women,” for the purposes of education and support of seminary spouses. More recently, “PIM” or “Partners in Ministry” has included married students and their families, as well as spouses. It’s goal has been to enrich marriages and family life during seminary in preparation for healthy marriages during a lifetime of ministry.

As a ministry of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) we hold to the traditions and biblical ethos of the ECC.  What you may find different here than other sites devoted to families in ministry is that we don’t cater to women only.  Since the ECC ordains women and supports women in leadership we not only pastor’s wives we have pastor’s husbands too.  Most of our audience is women but you will see articles directed toward all spouses, occasionally we will deal with gender specific issues.  Another difference you may find here is that we intentionally leave space and give permission for our audience of ministry spouses to explore God’s call on their lives.  We believe life in ministry is successful only when husband and wife are both fulfilling God’s call.  And that doesn’t only mean the wife following her husbands call into ministry.  Sometimes we follow one call or another for a bit but no one has a trump card and especially not because one spouse is called to serve the church and the other isn’t.

With all that in mind we hope you find a happy community you can connect with here.  Don’t hesitate to let us know your thoughts!