When the Women’s Ministry Committee was established by the NSW Assembly over a decade ago, the priorities identified were improving support for women ministry workers and our ministry wives. With Ministry and Mission’s increasing focus on healthy families in ministry, the Women’s Ministry Committee turned its attention to supporting women ministry workers, who were significantly lacking resources and support.

However, almost a decade into our existence, we wanted to see how ministry wives were faring today. The 2024 NSW Assembly encouraged us to survey ministry wives, and so we developed and distributed a new questionnaire (built on the one distributed ten years prior) so that we were not only gathering information, but also tracking progress and identifying ongoing areas of need.

We received 103 responses from an estimated 200 ministry wives—a significantly larger response than previous surveys.

Some of the key findings included:

1. 48% of ministry wives have no formal support groups or structures (83 respondents).
2. Of those who do have formal support structures, 28% found them not helpful or only slightly helpful (51 respondents).
3. 33% were neutral, dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their work-life balance. The written comments revealed significant stress associated with juggling ministry, family responsibilities and self-care.
4. 24% were unaware of the current supports and resources available. Others identified distance, cost and family commitments as barriers to accessing them.
5. Ministry wives in rural areas reported a significant lack of accessible support due to distance.
6. A common strategy for managing competing demands was simply to reduce their own ministry involvement.

The survey also invited written responses to the question:

"What are the main challenges and frustrations you face as a ministry wife?"

Seventy-six women (74% of respondents) shared thoughtful and detailed responses. Common themes included isolation, loneliness, balancing multiple roles, the pressures of congregational expectations, and feeling they lacked a voice within the church context.

At the same time, many also spoke warmly of the joy and privilege of serving alongside their husbands in gospel ministry. It was encouraging to see that even amid significant challenges, there remains a deep love for ministry and the opportunities it brings.

Overall, the survey confirmed the need for additional support and resources to help ministry wives flourish through both the joys and challenges of ministry life. Thirty women also took the opportunity to leave additional comments, with many expressing gratitude to the Women's Ministry Committee for its ongoing care and support.

One ministry wife wrote:

"I think a chaplain for ministry wives is an excellent idea. At times, issues arise that make being a ministry wife very isolating. Having someone outside of your immediate context who is able to offer timely, confidential, godly support, encouragement and wisdom would be a great gift and resource to ministers' wives. I know that over the years, I would have found it extremely helpful being able to contact a chaplain to talk through complex and challenging situations."

In response to these results, in 2025 the Women’s Ministry Committee requested the Assembly make funds available to establish a Ministry Wives Worker, initially two days per week, to support ministry wives with the aim of helping them flourish, prevent burnout, and be sustained in their ministry and family lives. Although the funding was uncertain last year, the Assembly has since approved funding for the position in 2027 and 2028, with ongoing funding to come from the Ministry Development Fund from 2029.

We are so thankful to the Lord for His faithfulness in providing the funding, and to the Assembly for recognising the need to better care for our ministry wives. We'd love your continued prayers as we refine the position description and begin advertising for candidates. We trust that the Lord, who has been faithful to this point, will continue to provide the right person to offer Christ-centred care, encouragement and support to ministry wives across our denomination.