Name- Mandy Winkle
Husband’s Position- Associate Pastor, Choir Director, Bus Captain
How long have you been married? 13 years
How many children/grandchildren do you have? How old are they? 5 children – 10, 8, 6, 4, 3
1.Where/How did you meet your husband? After a brief time in N. Carolina, my husband had moved back home to Texas and decided to visit his sister’s new church (my church!). His story goes like this “I passed by the nursery and caught a glimpse of a beautiful girl I had to get to know.” (Hee hee!) Being 5 ½ years his junior, I tease him about getting his wife from the nursery – robbing the cradle as it were. J
2. When did you get saved? May 1985 – 7 years old.
3. Can you share your testimony? Shortly after my brother and I started riding the bus to church in February 1985, my dad got saved and we became a church-going family. I was saved during a revival meeting in May of that same year. I can’t tell you what the preacher preached, but I can still remember the literal tug I felt in my heart to go forward. I tugged on my dad’s arm in return and told him I needed to go down to the front. I didn’t know why, but he did. I was saved that night and baptized that next Sunday with my cousins that also got saved that week. When I was 14, my dad was called to start a church in a town NW of Houston called Tomball. We were there 2 years before the Lord moved us back home to Fort Worth. At the age of 16 at the Pot O’ Gold Youth Ranch, I responded to the Lord during an invitation and fully gave Him the reigns of my life. I told Him I would do whatever He wanted me to. Due to the nature of this old sinful flesh shell I live in, I have had to rededicate that promise to the Lord (a time or two!) through the years. I am thankful for the continued grace my Heavenly Father has shown me.
4. How long have you been in the ministry? I would say since I was 7! We began serving on the buses as a family soon after we started going to church, and I have been involved serving the Lord in ministry ever since.
5. How did you know the Lord wanted you in the ministry? Was it hard for you to submit to that or did you know 100% sure right away that this is what God wanted for your life?
As I stated earlier, I surrendered my life to the Lord when I was a teenager. I believe when you accept Christ as your Saviour, you are inducted into His service. To be in service IS to be in ministry. Am I 100% sure that the Lord wants me to serve Him to the best of my ability in whatever capacity He chooses? ABSOLUTELY!
6. How old were you when you your husband first held a position of leadership? I was teaching Sunday School when I was 15 in our fledgling church in Tomball. When I got married, my husband was a bus captain, I was 20 then. I was 22 when my husband accepted a Youth Pastorate and we moved to a new church. The position at that church has changed through the years, but the church has not. Eleven years strong. J
7. And if you were young, did you have a hard time adjusting because of your age? Did you feel “ready” to be in that position? Did you feel you had a harder time being respected or taken seriously because of your age? No I never did have a hard time adjusting to the ministry. Serving the Lord with my family as a child was excellent training in serving the Lord as I became an adult. Much ado is given over ‘feeling ready’ and age. Moses was 80 years old when he was peddling excuses to God about ‘being ready’ for service! You will probably never feel ready for service, and if you do, you probably will learn quickly how ready you are not! The Lord uses those who are WILLING. It’s a heart issue. As for being respected or taken seriously, I leave it to the Lord. He knows my heart.
8. Once you had children did you find you did less in the ministry and was that hard for you? Oh just those few precious months when I nursed each of them did I really “do” less. Sometimes I would just give ‘em a little ‘snack’, go teach in my spot, and return to finish. It was more of a challenge to fit everything in around the nursing.
9. What are some ways you included and involved your children in the ministry?
a. Baby… Oh well you know those sweet little senior saint ladies who can’t be as active as they would like – they LOVE little babies! I would always ask one of them to hold my newborns for me during choir practices, etc. They are serving the Lord by being a blessing to me, and my baby helped them to serve. (That may be a stretch – but it’s true!) J
b. Toddler… A great place to teach toddlers to serve is in the nursing home ministry. Mine always loved going and shaking hands and singing songs. The nursing home folks love that too. I always teach my toddlers that picking up trash off of the church ground is serving the Lord too.
c. School age… By the time our kiddos are school aged, they are helping on our bus (singing, passing out candy, visitation). We teach them to always help in picking up chairs etc. after a fellowship. This is a good age to teach boys to hold the door open for ladies. Not too long ago, three of my school agers were on top of the church roof delivering shingles to their daddy and the other men as they reroofed the church. (That was their daddy’s idea, not mine!)
10. Do you ever worry that your children will resent the ministry and what are some ways you tried to make it fun for them? We rejoined the bus ministry this past year with the sole intent on having a ministry our whole family could serve together. Knocking doors, singing, befriending the bus kids, praying for them, all things my children have learned so far. If you knew us personally, you would know that anywhere we go; we bring the fun with us! My prayer is that each of my children will grow to have their own personal relationship with the Lord. It’s what is missing among so many of my PK counterparts that are off in the world right now. Mercy me, there are so many. We serve together, pray together and make sure our attitudes are in check.
11. What would be the best thing you would tell a mom who is raising her children in the ministry? Be consistent. That’s with anything!
12. Are you naturally a submissive person or do you sometimes have a hard time easily following your husband? Umm…no…I am not a naturally submissive person! I fight for control of my flesh on a daily basis. (I hope someone can relate to that!) But I do find when I am in line with the Lord; it’s easy to be in line with my husband. Although as a wife, I am required to be submissive whether I find it easy or not! The easiness of it, dear ladies, lies within my attitude. J
13. What do you do to encourage your husband when he is discouraged with the work? The best thing I can do is pray for my husband and TELL him I’m praying for him. If he knows you are on his side, it can be a great encouragement.
14. How do deal with any criticism toward your husband from others? I have been blessed to have never heard criticism of my husband. If they are criticizing, they know better than to tell me, I guess!
15. How do you deal with personal criticisms? I quack! It’s best to be a duck about those kinds of things. As water rolls off the oil of a duck’s feather, so should a criticism roll off of you.
16. Do you set aside date nights/days with your husband? Yes! We have to consciously set aside time for each other each week. In addition to being the associate pastor at our church, my hubby works a secular job too. Time together is essential.
17. What is the biggest thing you have learned about being married to a man in the ministry? That he is God’s man. Sometimes the Lord may be dealing with him about things that I know not of! I am sensitive to his moods and I know when something has changed. It is my nature to want to fix things – that always makes things worse. I have to let him deal with the test or trial that he’s been given.
18. What are some ways you protect your husband from “those” women in the church? Double barrel shotgun. Just kidding! I always tell my husband when I sense some distance should be made. He trusts my instincts – I trust the Holy Spirit! I also pray the Lord keeps our hearts knit together and to put a hedge of protection around us so when temptation comes lurking it doesn’t have a way in. We should not be ignorant of the devil’s devices.
19. Do you and your husband have devotion or prayer time together daily? No – with my husband working nights and sleeping during the day, it’s hard to do consistently on a daily basis. We do however, pray as a family several times a week and have devotion most every night with the kids before they go to bed and he heads off to work.
20. Do you have a hard time sharing your burdens with your husband in fear that it will discourage him? No, not at all. My husband is many times, my source of encouragement. He knows just what to say and I depend on that.
21. What do you do to encourage yourself in the Lord? I put on good Christian music. Nothing goes to your heart faster than music. Make sure it’s the right kind!
22. What is your favorite Scripture? I have so many! I especially love the book of Proverbs. One that my mom gave me in a situation when I was a teenager has stuck in my heart through the years: Proverbs 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
23. Do you have a favorite song? He Lives, Higher Ground, Love Grew Where the Blood Fell
24. What is your biggest struggle in the ministry? Honestly, it’s balance. I feel like I have to say yes to everything and everybody.
25. Do you have find that you are not able to have close lady friends in your church? I have learned many different lessons about that very subject, even one so recently. We are a close knit church family so there is a sense of sisterhood among our ladies. I am the SAME friendly to all of our ladies. It’s too easy for someone’s feelings to be hurt or the devil to use a friendship to cause strife and division. I try to stay away from ‘exclusive’ conversations in front of folks.
26. When you are discouraged, do you feel like you can “show” that feeling to ladies in the church? Or, do you feel like you always have to portray the “perfect” happy Pastor’s wife? You shouldn’t show your discouragement to your ladies. You should, however, teach them by example of how to bear ye another’s burdens. Let your ladies know about a need and help you pray for it, using discretion, obviously. People can see right through a “perfect” façade. Be real – it’s okay – they know you are human too! They need to see how real humans deal with things with God’s grace.
27. Have you ever made a big mistake or offended someone, and if yes, how did you go about restoring that relationship? Oh my, yes! As soon as I learn of it, I humbly go to them and beg forgiveness. You learn what people’s sensitivities are – I don’t want to be a stumbling block to anyone.
28. Do you have other lady ministry friends that you go to for counsel and “venting” purposes? Yes, two dear ones. Both are current pastors’ wives whose husbands went to Bible College with my husband. They are oft times a life line to me.
29. Other than praying, what is the most encouraging thing ladies in the church can do for you? Give an encouraging word or tell me of an answered prayer. It’s exciting to see the growth in new Christians – that is a big encouragement.
30. What is your favorite way to serve the Lord in your church? Singing – in the choir, as a special, in the congregation. I love it.
31. Do you currently have special Ladies Bible Study, meetings, or fellowships? We meet on the second Tuesday of each month for a Ladies Bible study fellowship. Our pastor’s wife (my mom) gives a lesson, we eat, sing and pray. A good time of fellowship that I look forward to.
32. What ways to you encourage your ladies to get involved in the work of the church? BE EXCITED ABOUT IT YOURSELF! If you get excited about something, your ladies will too. Also, promotion, promotion, promotion. Be organized and planned out. People don’t want to get involved with something that is sloppily put together.
33. What is the most important thing you pray to pass down to your daughters? A love for the Lord, the Bible, their church, their husbands, their children.
34. In all of your business, how do you fit your personal time in with the Lord each day? I have learned that if I do not put it in FIRST it doesn’t get fit in any other time.
Proverbs 8:17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
35. Out of all that you have learned being in the full time ministry, what is the most important thing you have learned? That you have to use what the Lord gives you. Okay so maybe that person doesn’t have all the skill needed – teach them! Be a part in helping them be all they can be for the Lord. Many times, a person is too afraid to raise a hand to volunteer. You go to them – maybe they’re waiting to be asked.
36. How would you describe the “perfect” Pastor’s wife? That would be someone who loves her ladies. Someone who doesn’t order you into the trenches, but jumps in first to lead by example. Someone who realizes that she is a part of something bigger than just her husband and her kids. She’s the example to the women of the church on how to be a godly wife and mother and servant of the Lord. As a matter of fact, I have that very example in my own pastor’s wife, my mother.
No comments:
Post a Comment