What happens when ministry doesn’t go as planned?

In this riveting conversation, Sarah Hinlicky Wilson shares her story of growing up in a third-generation pastoral family, wrestling with her call as a woman, and stepping into a church full of both history and heartbreak. From dollar-priced communion to deep theological reflection, Sarah’s story reminds us that God often works through unexpected twists.

Learn more about Sarah's writing at sarahhinlickywilson.com

🎙️ In This Episode:

• Growing up in a healthy Lutheran family and finding her call to ministry
• Wrestling with being a woman pastor—and discovering unlikely mentors
• Her first call in Trenton, NJ, and the painful reality of a declining church
• Nostalgia, culture, and the surprising places God redirects us

04:00 – Third-generation pastor with a happy church upbringing

07:00 – Wrestling with women in ministry through theology and mentors

10:00 – From PhD work to ordination

13:00 – First call: a struggling Slovak Lutheran church in Trenton

17:00 – Communion for a dollar? The odd traditions she inherited

20:00 – Facing racism, loss, and resistance in a shrinking congregation

24:00 – The deeper challenge of nostalgia and bound wills

30:00 – God’s unexpected redirection: Strasbourg, France

Ministry is rarely a straight line. Sarah’s story reveals how even in broken churches and cultural tensions, God is still at work redirecting us, reshaping us, and surprising us with new callings.