Meet Pastors Wife, JoAn Hodet

May I tell you just a bit about my friend? She is not just my Pastors wife, but a dear sister in Christ. Her heart to serve is infectious and her joyful disposition is something I strive to have. Let’s sit and chat with my personal friend JoAn Hodet…

Cyndi Woods- Please introduce yourself and tell our readers a little history of you and your family.
JoAn Hodet- My name is JoAn Hodet. I grew up in a nominal Christian home and was baptized in 1994 at the age of 14. I have been married to the love of my life, Christien, for about 18 years.My husband (a converted atheistic punk rocker since 1997) has been a pastor since 2004. I enjoy serving side-by-side with him in ministry. God has blessed us with 2 amazing young men, Asher (15) and Jadon (12), whom we love more than they can ever imagine. They have added extra energy, beauty, adventure, fun and happiness to our lives and family ministry. Aside from working with my husband in ministering to our congregation and community, I also work as a registered nurse. I am currently managing a busy hospice company here in Michigan. Our family
has always been involved in ministry and have done various programs to meet the needs of our communities through healthy cooking, youth/children ministries, financial seminars and other practical outreach endeavors to be the hands of Jesus to His people. We like to study the Bible with others and have involved our sons in evangelistic efforts since they were young. My boys also love to do music, singing in church and places like nursing homes. For recreation, we enjoy traveling, spending time in nature, camping, hiking, swimming, snowboarding and mountain biking.

CW- Have You always wanted to be in ministry of some kind?
JH- I never really thought of being in full-time ministry until later in life, when I had a reconversion experience. I was active as a youth in our local church, participating in various activities and programs but was most interested in meeting my personal social needs at the time. When I was in college, I chose to enter hospitality management, thinking more about finding an occupation than considering calling to ministry.

CW- What is your earliest memory of church that had a big impact on you?
JH- Every Saturday morning, since as far back as I can remember, my mother would have me and my 4 siblings ready to go to church before my father would wake up. My father belonged to a different faith group and was against the idea of us going to another church. Whenever he would see us leaving for church, an argument between he and my mother would ensue. To prevent that, my mother would get us up earlier so that we could go to church before he woke up. One time, while inside a taxi, en route to church, my mother realized I did not have any shoes on because we were rushing to leave our house and left them behind. That memory reminds me to be willing to leave anything behind that would prevent me from connecting with
God.

CW- Were you always involved in church activities?
JH- For the most part, I always enjoyed the social atmosphere and wanted to learn about God. There was a 2-year period during my young adult life though, where I lived in a “backslidden” state, involved myself in more “worldly” activities and disconnected from the church.

CW- Can you give us your journey story with Christ, when you began it and a brief testimony of what He has done in your life?
JH- God is great, ALL THE TIME. There are numerous moments in my life looking back, when I say to myself, “Wow, Lord, I knew that was You! Thank You!”

My favorite Bible verse is Jeremiah 29:11,”For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says
the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” This verse has been the theme of my life, a love letter of God to me. At a young age, I had a distorted view of who God truly is. When I was 7 years old, my father abandoned our family for another woman. Our then happy and comfortable life was turned upside down. I was angry at God for allowing us to be poor, to struggle and be unhappy. It was hard for me to have faith in a Heavenly Father when I could not rely on my earthly father. I still tried to go to church to trust in God even though it was so hard to understand why the hurt was not getting better. For 7 years, I just kept going to church, learning more about God and growing to believe that He would work His plans out for me. I was baptized when I was 14, as a public profession of surrendering and trusting Him with all things. I believe that the faithful, daily prayers of my mother were honored in turning my heart toward God. For a few years I was active in our local church, I enjoyed church-life and fellowship but didn’t always stay focused on keeping connected with God. During my young adult years, I strayed away for a time but came back, wanting to discover God for myself, not just what the church told me about Him, what my Mother told me about Him or what friends told me about Him, I truly wanted to own my faith, to get to know the God of the Bible more personally than ever before. This new faith journey was propelled when I moved to the
US to do my college internship in Texas. I started visiting churches and I was embraced by loving people. I was introduced to my husband, who started out like a spiritual mentor to me. He was already living in Michigan and we would have almost daily phone conversations and prayer. A new fire was ignited in me in 2002. I was going through a reconversion experience. I had no idea that God was preparing me for a new calling, to humbly serve as a pastor’s wife and be in full-time ministry.

CW- Did you see yourself being married to a Pastor?
JH- No! I had always turned away from the idea, thinking my spirituality wouldn’t make me compatible, but I guess “God has a sense of humor.” He knows better than I do. I am glad that I trusted Him with His plans and not my own wisdom.

CW- How has being in ministry impacted your own walk with Christ?
JH- Being in ministry has made my life more beautiful. I believe God has humbled me in many ways and has helped me to seek Him more and surrender all to Him.

CW- What is your favorite part of ministry? What has been the most challenging?
JH- My favorite part of ministry is interacting with so many different types of people. I especially enjoy ministering to children and leading them to have a deeper walk with Jesus. The most challenging parts of ministry are: handling church politics that arise here and there and knowing the best way to minister to people that face mental health issues.

CW- Can you recall a time in your ministry or in your life when you knew God alone had made a provision?
JH- During our 2nd year of marriage, my husband was in the seminary and was pastoring a church with a small stipend salary. Both of our sons were born during this time. God led us to a
comfortable, low rent home owned by members of the church. He opened up a part-time job opportunity for me 3 blocks down from our house that allowed me to bring baby to work with
me. 2 new friends that were made during this time gave us cars. My husband struggled at the beginning with considering the call to be in the situation but with the provisions mentioned and so many more, we had abundant confirmation that we were where God wanted us to be.

CW- What do you see as being some of the biggest challenges today for women in ministry?
JH- Balancing family, church and work life. Generational barriers that make it difficult for young women to work together with the older women in church, the lack of mentorship and training. The lack of appreciation for giftedness of women.

CW- Where do you find your inspiration to keep going in ministry?
JH- First, by staying connected with God myself, He keeps me motivated serve as He came to do. He has also blessed me with amazing people like my husband, my fellow “Shepherdesses” and spiritual mentors who inspire me to keep moving forward in the ministry He has called me to. Seeking to look at everyone (including myself) not as I am/they are (with all of our brokenness, weaknesses and dysfunctions) but as we are in Jesus and can be with Him in us inspires me to keep going the best that I can.

CW- What advice do you have for women who feel the call to ministry but aren’t sure what steps to take?
JH- Ask God to give you a tremendous amount of faith and submission to His will. Trust that God will lead you to where He wants you to be and when you are willing, He will open the opportunities for you to be a co-worker with Him. Ministry is not a career; it is a calling. Accept that He will transform you into the person He wants you to be as you live a life of surrender to Him. Claim His promise in Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.” and look for How His providence works to open doors for service.

CW- What struggles do you currently face that you lean on God for?
JH- Managing stress and work-life balance. I am asking God daily to give me strength. To let go of things beyond my control. I am learning to fully rely on God.

CW- Do you have any other thoughts you’d like to share with us about ministry, your life, or anything else?
JH- Thank you for this opportunity to share what God has done in my life and the beautiful ministry that He has called our family into. One day, by God’s grace, when I see Jesus face-to-face, I look forward to the time that I can bow at His feet and worship Him, hearing His comforting voice say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”. All the things we face in this life – the ups and downs, the laughter and tears, all the “curve balls” thrown at us will have truly all been worth it when we see the lives, we’ve touched for Him in heaven with us.

It has been my pleasure to talk a little with JoAn and hear her story of life, love and ministry. She truly has a servants heart and it will be interesting to see how God uses her next. Thank you JoAn for talking with us. May the ways God has blessed you be felt by all you interact with as I’m sure they will be