The Biggest Lesson I Learned in My Military-Wife Life – How to Cultivate Community (Part 4)

This post has four parts. Access Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3 to read more.

This is part 4 of how I cultivated community as a military wife.

Small Groups for Women

I started cultivating small groups for women too.

I also started to engage with other military wives over Bible study. When a study for military women was offered through the base chapel, I was part of the Protestant Women of the Chapel (PWOC) and even served on their board. However, this group wasn’t active at all of the military installations we called home, so I started groups in my home. When living on base, I usually coordinated with one of the chaplains to let them know I’d be offering a study for women in my home and shared the information so that he could help spread the word and support me. I always found this helped me form a great connection with the chaplains which led to more ministry opportunities for me.

I’d start my studies once I found just one other woman who was interested in forming a community to study the Bible together. Then, we’d start meeting and spreading the word through word-of-mouth channels.  Within weeks, our group usually grew to a dozen women. These women ended up being my closest friends.

One thing I found during my 25 years as a military wife was that there were hundreds of great workbook guides for Bible studies, but very little Bible study content that was specifically contextualized to address some of the unique concerns of military life. So, when I began seminary four years ago, I used some of my education to equip me to do just that. I have a study written specifically for military wives that will be released in October.  This study takes you through Genesis 12-22 and the life of Sarah and Abraham. I found many parallels between Sarah’s life and that of a military wife. Please preorder the book now. You can also read more about the study, Another Move, God? 30 Encouragements for Embracing Your Life as a Military Wife here.

Protestant Women of the Chapel (PWOC) – sometimes now called Women of the Chapel (WOC) is a group offered through the chapel of some military installations. The group used to be more widespread but is still offered at most Army posts and some Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Marine installations. I’ve loved my involvement with PWOC and am still involved with a group now at Peterson Space Force Base.

Although I made some amazing friendships with civilians who are still friends, I found that I needed some other military spouses who understood my crazy life and the challenges I often faced. I was blessed by friends who knew what it was like to prepare to move but did so with a smile anyway. I knew friends who knew how incredibly overwhelmed a wife can be when her hubby is deployed. I needed other mil-spouse friends who understood I was going to be awkwardly open in our first meeting because I wanted to make a true friendship quickly.

So, PWOC is a great place to engage with other military women and wrestle with God and the Word of God. There is so much shared experience. I’ve found that my PWOC and Bible study friends can help point me to the truth when I’m tempted to listen to lies. There are some days when your faith meter is running low, and you need to borrow some faith from your sisters.

Here is another post that provides proven strategies to combat loneliness as a military spouse.

I’d love to come speak to your group about being a supportive military wife and how to go from just surviving as a military wife, to thriving. Read more about my speaking topics.