about: our story

In 2003, while speaking at a church planters’ workshop for Mission to North America (MNA), Shari Thomas decided to turn off the microphone and start listening. As a veteran of global church planting, Shari knew firsthand the tremendous frustration of church planting spouses (CPSes). These women join fully in the planting mission while facing an ocean of brokenness, loneliness and a lack of preparation and support.

After hearing about their discouragement and identifying with their pain, Shari began designing a ministry to address the crucial needs of the church planting couple. Due to the lack of research on CPSes, MNA commissioned Shari to conduct qualitative research (interviews) and quantitative research (questionnaires) to ascertain the scope of the issues faced by CPSes’s.

In 2003, Shari met Tami and was struck by her gift to bring practicality to just about any situation. Tami quickly became an integral part of the process, bringing ideas for tools, addressing needs, and helping in many ways.

In 2005, Shari, accompanied by Tami, presented the key research findings to the MNA committee: namely that the health of the church planting couple is key to a successful church. The majority of failed plants or premature pastoral departures stemmed from a lack of understanding the demands church planting placed on the pastoral couple, and the difficulty of navigating congregational expectations. Soon after, Shari and Tami began working for MNA, putting their research into practice.

A Name

When naming this new ministry, Shari and Tami began looking for a word that transcended generations and culture. Drawing from the New Testament Greek, they decided on Parakaleo, which means coming alongside.

Parakaleo began small with a simple meeting of CPSes from the Atlanta area, where Shari and her husband John were serving at the time. In December 2005, seven CPSes each in a different stage of church planting, gathered at a quaint Atlanta café. As the meeting started, these women shared unhealed wounds and brainstormed what this group could look like. They began developing guidelines, inviting transparency and yet safety, leading them to Jesus, but not giving empty answers to serious issues.

As Parakaleo began to grow, requests for networks, coaching and training began to pour in from multiple locations. Although women had started their own groups in other areas, Tami and Shari realized that, in order to be truly effective, they needed to develop training materials so that each groups’ vision aligned with the research.

With input from counselors, theologians, and other ministry leaders, Shari and Tami began designing tools and materials that were uniquely created for women in church planting and ministry positions.

Between 2009 and 2010, Parakaleo added two more women to its staff, Cristina Caires and Maria Garriot. As church planting spouses themselves, both bring valuable years of experience to the team along with a passion for reaching women.