In this Three Question Series interview from the Alliance for Mission and Renewal, Chris Gordon sits down with Denine Blevins, Executive Director of Parakaleo—a ministry that supports women serving on church-planting teams around the world.

Denine shares stories of how God is meeting the often-overlooked needs of church planters’ wives and women in ministry. Denine brings hard-earned wisdom as she describes the unseen pressures of church planting—the long hours, the weight of expectations, and the loneliness that can quietly hollow out even the most passionate teams. Her message is simple but urgent: if the women who stand beside and within these ministries aren’t cared for, the entire church plant is at risk.

She invites pastors, planters, and mission leaders to slow down and ask thoughtful questions:

• What’s your plan for caring for your wife?
• How are you building systems of support for the women on your teams?
• Are you setting aside resources—not just for ministry growth, but for the spiritual health of the people doing the work?

Denine is a proud New Yorker with a gift for uniting diverse groups. She has two decades of experience helping organizations turn ideas into implementation. Prior to Parakaleo, she worked at Redeemer City to City and Mission to North America supporting programs for leaders.