When I came to Soul Care, my expectations were mostly academic and leadership-focused. I hoped to gain deeper insight into the alignment of the human spirit, soul, and body. Based on my previous study and ministry experience, I understood that the soul is the key to prosperity and success (3 John 2). I imagined learning methods to force my soul into submission, bringing it into line with my spirit and body, so I could press forward in unified strength.

What I didn’t expect was that this training would take me far beyond strategy and leadership principles. It brought me into a place of transformation and healing, a deep, sacred encounter with God. Soul Care didn’t just offer techniques; it brought restoration. What I experienced was nothing short of a miracle: a reversal I could never have imagined. Through Soul Care, I found living proof that God’s Word is ancient, true, and full of power.

Before Soul Care, I had suffered burnout in many forms, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It nearly pushed me out of ministry and made me question God. In desperation, I came to Jos for what I thought would be a brief retreat. That “retreat” has lasted over 18 months now. I left everything behind, ministry and secular life, because I could no longer carry on. When I think about what burnout had done to me, I can say it turned me to ashes. And yet, through Soul Care, I have become a witness to this truth: God can bring beauty out of ashes. What was once destroyed has become something living again. What was dry and burned-out has begun to bloom. Truly, light can come out of darkness.

It’s difficult to pick just one moment or course that impacted me, it felt like trying to find a pin in a haystack. But a few stood out as particularly life-changing:

The lesson on Pastoral Burnout described my experience with surprising accuracy. I thought I understood burnout, but this training showed me the root causes, habits, pressures, and spiritual assumptions that leave pastors depleted and disoriented. The teaching on Strongholds opened my eyes to the inner lies I had accepted, and the freedom available when we confront those lies with truth. The lesson on Releasing Shame revealed how cultural expectations and unspoken pressures often trap pastors in guilt and secrecy. And then there was Rest, I will never forget the moment I heard, “Rest is an act of faith.” That truth flipped a switch in my spirit. It lifted the guilt I carried and helped me let go of the “Jonah syndrome” I had unknowingly lived with.

The result? Everything in my life, especially my family and ministry is better because of this course. My mindset has shifted. I now approach my relationships, responsibilities, and identity with a sense of healing and clarity. I’ve recognized wounds in my soul that no longer control me. I can breathe again because God has breathed on me once again. As I write this, I am in a place of mental and physical rest, and I give God all the glory.

What life was like before taking Soul Care: My husband was the first to take the Soul Care course three years ago. I remember waiting eagerly for him to come home every Thursday so he could share what he learned that day. Every time he talked, I felt like I needed the course even more than he did. I knew I was carrying a lot of baggage, anger and pain, but I couldn’t identify where it was coming from.

My childhood was full of hurtful and sad memories. I grew up with my uncle, my grandmother, and my aunt. I was molested, maltreated, and abused. Then, at the age of 22, I lost my dad, my mum, and my brother. Deep down, I wanted to be a loving and caring woman, but inside me was rage, anger, and bitterness. I knew I needed help, but because I didn’t understand the root of my pain, I felt like I was slowly losing myself.

What was most impactful about Soul Care: Soul Care helped me uncover the strongholds and wounds I had been carrying for years. It gave names and faces to the pain that had bound me. I began to understand why I struggled with anger, why I always felt timid, and why I couldn’t find peace. I’ve always believed that Jesus died to set me free, but Soul Care helped me understand what it really means to live free.

The lesson on mother wounds impacted me deeply. I had carried so many questions: Why did my mother treat me the way she did? Why wasn’t she there for me? Why didn’t she teach me the things a mother should teach her daughter? Why didn’t she love me like the only daughter she had? Through this course, I came to understand that my mother also had a wounded childhood. She was born to a stepfather, raised by an uncle, abused in her first marriage, she was hurting too. She simply didn’t have more to give. That realization helped me begin to forgive her and to heal.

My take-home challenge: I am breaking free from every stronghold. I am choosing to be present for my daughters, to love them, talk with them, walk with them, and never let them grow up with a relative as long as I’m alive. I am choosing to let God into every area of my life, my fears, my worries, my pain, my anger, and my hurt.
And yes, I say yes to a Sabbath, yes, and yes again to Sabbath rest!

Pastor Segun, if it were up to me, I would write a book about the impact Soul Care has had on my life. Just a few weeks into the course, my 20-year-old daughter looked at me and said, “Mom, you have changed.” I mean, what else could I ask for? I am most grateful, sir. God bless you and increase you in every good way.

I would say that coming in contact with The Gathering Faith Leadership Network has added significant value to my personal life and pastoral journey. Before taking the Soul Care course, I expected to learn more about pastoral leadership skills. However, over the 12 weeks of training, I gained far more than I anticipated. The course deeply improved both my personal spiritual life and my ministry. I’ll mention just a few lessons that stood out to me.

I learned that strongholds, sinful thoughts and destructive habits, can ruin not only my ministry but also my personal life. I must deal with them intentionally in order to walk in true freedom.

I also discovered that my childhood experiences with my father and mother have had a strong influence on how I live today, and even on how I raise my children. I realized that I was repeating patterns shaped by past wounds. I repented and made a decision to raise my children through training, coaching, and befriending them, not through fear or control.

Another powerful lesson came through the teaching on marriage. Before, I used to expect my wife to behave like a “pastor’s wife.” But through the training, I’ve learned to allow her to simply be who God created her to be: a woman with her own identity and journey, not a role to be filled.

Lastly, I used to feel easily angry or discouraged when church members criticized my leadership. But Soul Care taught me that no matter what I do, there will always be criticism. The key is to examine what people are saying carefully, without reacting emotionally, before deciding how to respond. This has changed the way I interpret feedback and handle leadership challenges.

In all, Soul Care is a course I highly recommend to my fellow pastors. It doesn’t just deal with ministry technique, it addresses the heart of the pastor, strengthens spiritual life, and transforms relationships at home and in the church. Thank you once again.

What was life like before taking Soul Care? Looking back, I can now say I knew something was wrong, but I couldn’t tell what it was. I wasn’t even asking the right questions. When I first heard about Soul Care, I assumed it was a time for pastors and pastors’ wives to be pampered or maybe just taught how to take care of themselves. I didn’t expect it to be such a holistic, life-transforming course, one that would touch every area of my life and confront not just the symptoms, but the root issues I had been carrying. Life, at that time, felt like constantly walking against a current, with no permission to stop and catch my breath.

What was most impactful about Soul Care? It’s hard to choose just a few highlights because every session was meaningful. But here are a few that hit especially close to home:

The teaching on strongholds: We learned that the devil often lies to us, about God, about ourselves, and about others. I realized how many times I’d heard those lies, even recognized them as lies, but just pushed them aside. They kept resurfacing. That lesson taught me to resist those lies by standing firmly in the truth of God’s Word. God is love, and anytime the devil says something different, I now know I must respond, not with fear, but with truth.

Parenting and how our upbringing shapes us: This was a lightbulb moment. I began to see my husband differently because I better understood how he was raised. I also understood more about myself, why I do certain things, and why we sometimes differ in our parenting approaches. One profound takeaway was the reminder to let children be children, not to pressure them to be “perfect pastors’ kids.” I learned that while I can train and guide them, the deepest peace comes from surrendering them to Jesus, the only One who truly transforms lives.

The stages of parenting: This opened my eyes, especially as I have two 21-year-olds living with me. I had assumed that age automatically indicated maturity, but I’ve come to understand that each child may still need nurturing, even at older ages. I now try to meet each of my children where they are, coaching the one who’s ready for it, and nurturing the one who still needs it.

Sabbath rest: The illustration of the fuel tanker really struck me. The tanker may be full and serving others, but it needs its own small engine tank filled too. That’s me. I can be working in my gifts, pouring into others, and still be on the edge of burnout. I now understand the necessity of Sabbath, of stopping to breathe, to refuel, to rest in God.

Every session left me with revelation and transformation.

What has changed since completing Soul Care? So much. But if I could summarize: I now look for the root, not just the symptom. Even in counseling others, I don’t rush to “fix” things. I slow down to ask deeper questions. I’ve learned to extend more grace, to others and to myself.

I rest. I refresh. And it’s already transforming how I serve. I’m more compassionate. Less critical. I understand now that people are often responding from places of pain I can’t see. And I’m far more intentional, especially in parenting. My children are still young, and I want to meet them in each phase with the right mindset: nurturing, coaching, and eventually friendship. I know change doesn’t come without action, and action flows best from understanding.

This course was eye-opening. Sitting with pastors’ wives from different denominations and age groups, sharing openly without the pressure to perform or pretend, was healing in itself. Honestly, everyone needs Soul Care. Yes, especially pastors and leaders, but truly, every believer would benefit from this journey.

My colleague had gone through Soul Care and had been speaking glowingly about it, though without mentioning specifically what had impacted him the most. So I kept wondering: What really is this Soul Care?

As a leader of many pastors and someone constantly handling complex and challenging issues that leave me emotionally, physically, mentally, and sometimes spiritually drained, I suspected that Soul Care, as the name implies, might be a program that could help me deal with the burdens of leadership.

When I started attending Soul Care, I discovered through the courses something much deeper than I expected. Instead of just learning how to manage the stress of leadership, I was introduced to many areas of my life - my family, ministry, and even the team I work with, and how they all need to be attended to.

The session on Strongholds was especially impactful. I discovered that there are certain sins which, if not quickly and decisively identified and dealt with, can become strongholds in my life. So I identified such sins, and I am working, under God’s Spirit and grace, to deal with them through confession and seeking God’s forgiveness.

Another impactful session was on Burnout. I discovered that I am nearing burnout, which occurs when your inner spiritual life can no longer sustain your outward ministry life. I also learned how burnout can develop in a pastor’s life and how to resuscitate my heart for ministry. Bob Pierce’s story brought the point home in a powerful way: you can be succeeding in ministry but, at the same time, be impoverished at the personal, private, or family level.

The Parenting session reminded me of my discipler, who used to tell us that he was praying for us, our future wives, and even our children who would one day be in high school. At that time, I wasn’t even in a serious relationship. Since our discipler was a white man, we felt he was taking things too far... wives to marry, okay... but children? That seemed ridiculous.

But through the Parenting session, I learned that each child is unique and that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to parenting. I also realized that when a child reaches the age at which you, as a parent, once made certain mistakes, you tend to become overly strict out of fear that your child will repeat those same mistakes.

With this and so much more that I’ve learned, I’ve come to appreciate what our discipler was praying for, us, our wives, and our children. The statement “Bad behavior in children is just a symptom” hit me like a bag of cement. I had never understood it this way before. Now, whenever I observe negative behavior in any of my children, I know I must dig deeper to find the root cause. Just like adults, our children are also confronted by the devil, sin, and the flesh.

Because of the great impact Soul Care has had on my life, I believe every pastor should take this course. In fact, there is a pastor my wife and I know who we strongly feel needs it. Without a doubt, Soul Care is the greatest thing that has happened to me in this first half of 2025.

God bless The Gathering Faith Leadership Network and prosper her.

All thanks to Almighty God for the breath of life and the golden opportunity to learn practical tips for successful living as a pastor’s wife in full-time ministry. Before I started attending Soul Care Bible classes, my expectation was that my knowledge of God’s Word would increase and that it would help me in my role as a pastor’s wife. I also hoped it would help me grow spiritually in my Christian faith.

The most impactful course for me was Breaking Free from Strongholds. That lesson changed my life. Before Soul Care, I used to worry excessively over small problems, especially issues concerning my immediate siblings and my mother. The anxiety would often keep me up at night. It even weakened my ability to pray. Instead of praying, I would fall into anxiety. But none of those worries ever solved my problems.

During the Soul Care lessons, I learned to depend on God. I began to hand my problems over to Him, and I can now see God solving them day by day.

Another lesson that deeply impacted me was Breaking Free from Guilt and Shame. I now understand that Jesus has paid for my past, present, and future sins. I am no longer a slave to sin, I am a child of God. When I fall short, I don’t have to hide in guilt. I confess my sins, receive forgiveness, and walk in freedom.

The Parenting lesson also stood out to me. As parents, we often try to impose our will on our children. But this lesson helped me realize that our role is to guide our children, not control them, because we are accountable to God for how we raise them. That truth really touched me.

The lesson on Sabbath also opened my eyes. I used to think Sabbath meant just Saturday or Sunday. Now I understand that the Sabbath is about intentionally setting aside time to fellowship with the Lord.

There was also a session on Play Therapy, which seemed like something for children at first—but it turned out to be deeply impactful as well.

I am so grateful to God, to my DCC leaders, my wonderful lecturers, and to the leadership of The Gathering Faith Leadership Network, especially Pastor Segun. May the good Lord continue to bless and refill you all, in Jesus’ name.