Pastor, World Overcomers Christian Church, since 2003, over 10,000 members, Raleigh-Durham, NC
DVD series: Real Love, World Overcomers Christian Church 2012
Trained at Rhema Bible Training Center, Tulsa, OK
Married, LaShawn (21 years)
4 children
GUESTS
Andy Thompson: Choosing a Godly Wife
By
The 700 Club
CBN.com
–FINDING A WIFE
Andy says we need husbands and fathers. It is important for a man to get himself together first. A relationship with God must come first. A relationship with the Lord will show a man more about himself and his future than anything else. A man must know himself.
“You are not ready to choose a wife until you know what you’re lacking and what you need to be choosing,” he says.
“When you find someone, because that person will actually give you answers, she will never be a nag.”
Know your gifts. Know your personality and how you function. “You will love your wife the way you love yourself,” Andy says. It is vital that a man learns to care for himself.
“You are not ready for a wife if you can’t pay your own bills,” he says.
After a man knows what he is lacking and looking for in a wife, he needs to start looking. A man looks with his eyes as he is visual. Start a search, but a man must know the right places to look.
“A guy needs to look in the ministry he is a part of,” Andy says. “You need to make sure you are serving in the church and faithful. When you meet a women who is serving in the same capacity, you know something about a woman when you know the ministry she is a part of.” He advises a man to first look in his own church where he is serving and faithful.
Andy reminds us of the story in Genesis 24 where Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac. He sends the servant back to his people.
“The spiritual part of you is looking for this woman who will meet your needs,” Andy says. "So look in your vineyard. If there isn’t anyone in your vineyard then you will need to meet her in a ministry of someone you know."
Andy says when you meet her, then it is important to pray. Tell the Lord the specific things you are looking for. Meet her family. A man will know a woman by her family. Give her gifts.
“We have a tendency to overspiritualize it. We can’t chalk it all up to God. This is who God told me to marry. We don’t want to have the responsibility of making a mistake,” he says.
Andy’s church has grown to over 10,0000 people in less than nine years. Half of those attending are men. Typically the average church in the US has less than 10 percent of males attending.
“We were trying to make our church a place where men want to be comfortable and worship God and to be the spiritual head,” Andy says. The top three most attended church days: Easter, Christmas, Mother’s Day. The least attended day is Father’s Day. This year, World Overcomers created a Man Cave in the lobby of the church. They had flat screens everywhere. They played the service and ESPN simultaneously.
“We just wanted to show the men that fathers are vital and good fathers are more rare,” Andy says.
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