Today's post is written by BT. She is a wife and homeschool mom to four boys (she's had a 5th boy since first writing this post). Her family lives in an unreached context alongside a church planting team from our faith family.

When my husband took his first job on staff at a church, I was a bit concerned about my ability to live up to the stereotypical traits of a pastor’s wife. Let’s just be honest, we all know a “good” pastor’s wife in the south plays the piano, sings in the choir, bakes a mean pound cake, and attends EVERY church function.

Our first few years together in ministry we didn’t have children, which afforded me the time to host Disciple Now groups in our home, head up the summer VBS program, start a play group for stay at home moms, lead a young married small group, volunteer in the church nursery, work at the church’s summer camp, mentor young girls, attend every church function alongside my husband, and still leave a little time to figure out that whole pound cake thing.

However, as the years passed and our family began to change, my days quickly became consumed with burp cloths and baby wipes. Our family of 2 grew to a family of 6, and some days I couldn’t find the time to shower much less live out 1 Peter 4:10, "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms."

If I’m really honest, I’d tell you there were times when I struggled with the fact that I couldn’t be on the “front lines” of ministry because I was home with my little ones. I realize that last statement probably won’t win me any parenting awards, but...it’s true. During those days, the Lord was abundantly gracious to show me the high calling of making disciples IN my home. A precious friend encouraged me to take advantage of the rare opportunity to have my disciples sitting at my feet because before long they’d be standing by my side.

I was unsure in the beginning how to mesh the responsibility laid out in Deuteronomy 11:18-19 ("Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.") with the clear calling throughout Scripture to serve those in need, share the gospel with the lost, and be the hands and feet of Christ to a hurting world. Over time, I began to see that my home was a hub of ministry and my children could easily partner with me. I didn’t need to stop serving; I just needed to change the way I went about it.

For example, having four children seven and under made it difficult to go clean the house of a friend that had recently brought home a new baby, but I could certainly swing by and pick up her laundry and have my boys help me with it. 

I may not have hours to go visit with the new family that moved into our neighborhood but I could bake cookies and take my children with me to welcome them and introduce ourselves.

Wrangling four boys when I was out running errands left little room for conversations that could lead to sharing the gospel. So, as a family we chose a restaurant owned and operated by a Muslim family and decided to visit it regularly in an effort to build relationships that could open the doors to spiritual conversations.

Finding the balance between discipling my children and serving others is a process I still haven’t perfected. But I have learned that as I bring my boys alongside me to serve others, Jesus Christ has become less about stories in a book and more about a love they are seeing materialize in their own lives.