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Beth Holder and her husband, Phil, have served at Friendship Baptist Church in Beaumont for eight years. Phil is the church’s senior pastor. Beth, an elementary school special education inclusion teacher, leads a women’s Bible study and is involved with other ministries. The Holders have two married children.
What’s something you are celebrating at Friendship Baptist Church?
We’ve been praying about an apartment outreach ministry for some time. There are several apartment complexes around our location. We have not had any open doors until this year. In mid-January, we were able to start a Bible study at a complex. The manager has been very helpful and has even promoted it to residents and prospective residents. Adults and children attend, and we have been able to start planting seeds and sharing the gospel. The children have especially absorbed the Bible stories. It is a joy to see their interest and awe in the stories they have never heard before.
What are some things you are praying will happen at Friendship over the next year?
I am praying for God to use the apartment ministry and our food pantry to reach more people and that they will come to know Jesus. I am also praying God will send committed families to our church that are called to join us in the work of reaching our community. I am also praying God will strengthen our members and give them energy and passion to keep working to reach the community around us. They work hard, and I pray God will allow them to see some of the results of their labor.
What are some of the challenges of being a pastor’s wife others may not recognize?
I laugh when I am asked this question. I grew up as a pastor’s kid and said I would never marry a pastor. Despite being in a wonderful home with parents who sheltered me and my brother from many church difficulties, I saw challenges that I didn’t care to have. God has a sense of humor! One of the challenges others may not recognize is the loneliness of the pastor’s wife. So often it seems she has many friends because she interacts with many people, but the reality is that the pastor’s wife has few close friends with whom she can be completely open and honest. Another challenge is the assumption she knows everything about the church and its members. She does not. Another of the greatest challenges facing the small church pastor’s wife is weariness. She holds many responsibilities, some chosen and some by default. She often works outside the home while still fulfilling church and family responsibilities.
What’s the best piece of advice you have received about your calling?
In the midst of an extremely difficult time of ministry, my father said to me, “Don’t miss what God has for you, even in this.” I have tried to heed that advice in all circumstances—good, bad, hard, easy, etc. That is also advice I have passed on to others, especially fellow pastors’ wives. No matter what season we are in, God has something for us. If we aren’t focused on Him, we will miss it.
How can SBTC churches be praying for you, your church, and your ministry?
Pray that God will give us strength, energy, and passion to continue outreach efforts, and that God will direct us in those efforts. It is our prayer to experience growth through new believers, be a positive light in our community, strengthen the body we have, and glorify God.
