Throughout their 28+ years of evangelistic ministry, Chresten and Bridgette have been privileged to sit across from hundreds of pastors and their families, provide friendship and a listening ear, and, on occasion, welcomed counsel from their tenured ministry experiences across the nation and in many diverse situations. From those encounters, Bridgette began to sense, early on, the pull from the ministry wife, seeking out support, friendship, and an “I see you”. She began to ask the Lord what she could do to provide an increased measure of support to the ministry wife community, a community of women who often feel rather isolated on an island.

She began to ask the Lord what she could do to provide an increased measure of support to the ministry wife community, a community of women who often feel rather isolated on an island.

“I’ve never claimed to have all the answers,” Bridgette humbly confesses. “But if we could be a small part of helping ministry families go the distance, we asked the Lord to show us how.”

In 2015, Chresten and Bridgette launched a ministry for ministry wives called Sanctuary with a two-day, two-night retreat. 10 years later, the retreat was still going strong annually, and the ministry of Sanctuary had expanded to a deep ministry blog archive and a vibrant social media community that promotes heightened confidentiality, care, and, fairly often, laughter. Let’s Connect events were a natural overflow from the annual retreat as ministry wives discovered they truly desired and craved intentional connection with one another, but preferably with women who lived closer to where they were stationed. Through Let’s Connect, ministry wives host casual gatherings for other ministry wives to just get together, eat a great meal or enjoy some coffee, and connect. Also, a podcast called Let’s Talk with Sanctuary features 100 episodes of content for women in ministry and leadership.

As the annual Let’s Retreat came to a close in November 2024, Bridgette began to feel the Lord stirring her to start picking up the tent pegs of this beloved event and transition to a small conference model. And so, at Let’s Retreat in November 2025, she rolled out God’s next steps for Sanctuary, which included hosting a mini-conference in Branson, Missouri! Let’s Gather began to take shape and will officially launch this coming Tuesday, September 29, at Lodge of the Ozarks!

It is our prayer that the trappings of all that has made Let’s Retreat a success, one that guests desire to return to year after year, will be the foundation of all that Let’s Gather becomes. “It is my heart to see Let’s Gather be known as a hybrid of rest and revival,” Bridgette says with a smile. “There’s just no exchange for lingering in the presence of God, making room for the Holy Spirit to do whatever He desires. If God doesn’t show up, this will all have been a grand waste of time and resources. We want to experience His glory and let Him do the supernatural, deep work.”

Guests can expect to engage in authentic worship, meet ministry wives from multiple generations and a diversity of regions, laugh a lot, eat well, and find a way to truly rest and be refreshed within the event’s 48-hour format. The bonus? Branson, Missouri is a widely known tourist favorite for great food, beautiful views and scenery, fantastic shopping, entertainment, and so much more!

Will you partner with us in prayer, that the intercession and preparation done to “spoil these women rested” will be fruitful and lasting?

For more information on Sanctuary and its varied outlets, stop by the ministry’s site at sanctuaryministrywives.com.