Sacred Siblings

• We are moving toward a world in which the majority of people will be single. In many cultures that time has already come. Yet, our mission environment is most often oriented around married couples. This book surfaces many of the issues that teams will face when members come from these two distinct life situations. As the authors point out in the book, it is easy for us to consider ourselves experts in understanding these challenges. Yet, there is little teaching and writing about this topic. This is a unique resource that readers will find to be relevant in our modern missions era.

  — TED ESLER

• Sacred Siblings: Valuing One Another for the Great Commission is one of those rare books that tackles an important subject with quantifiable research, together with captivating stories that illustrate key findings in the research. And what a great title—that we all view each other as “sacred siblings”—regardless of marital status. Eenigenburg and Grumelot are not content to just explain the challenges of sacred sibling relationships, of which there are many. They raise the bar and offer the reader much more by sharing practical and actionable suggestions to make these relationships all that God intends for them to be. If you’re looking for a very readable and thought-provoking book, this one is for you.

  — JOHN CERTALIC , Executive Director, Caring for Others

• Sacred Siblings provides us with a compilation of information that goes beyond the anecdotal stories of singles and marrieds serving side-by-side on ministry teams. Through illustrations, not only from Sue and Suzy, but those who participated in the surveys, we get a sense of the challenges, the joys, the disappointments, and the unmet expectations in life together. There are constructive suggestions of ways to serve one another in these sacred extended ministry family relationships. This will be helpful for those who prepare people pre-field, for those who are leading teams along with the couples and singles serving on the teams, and for those who have a ministry of care and consultation for overseas workers. I recommend that after reading it, opportunity is made for dialogue at team retreats and conferences.

  — FAITH DE LA COUR , Vice President and Chief People Officer, SIM, USA

• If you are looking for a book that will help you discover for the first time, or go more in-depth into relationships between singles and marrieds in ministry, Sacred Siblings needs to be on your reading list. Sue Eenigenburg and Suzy Grumelot use their years of experience, coupled with survey results, to give the reader a better understanding of the issues, as well as provide practical tools that will help members thrive and be successful in the ministry to which God has called them.

  — BRETT SHIDELER , VP, Ministry and Care Resources | People Services, Wycliffe Bible Translators USA

• Sue and Suzy focus on a particular but critical kind of diversity which exists among those serving in our churches and missions organizations: married couples and singles (and secondarily, men and women). Their research has enabled them to identify areas of life in ministry in which the surveyed marrieds and singles see things differently. In addition to encouraging ministry leaders to be more aware of and consider how to respond to such differences, the authors provide numerous practical suggestions and additional resources to help cultivate better relationships on teams with both married and single members and to increase their effectiveness in the mission.

  — ERIC SCHLOTTMAN, Leadership Development and Human Resources team, Cru- Latin America and the Caribbean

• Suzy and Sue show us our divergent perspectives as single and married team members and ask us to carefully reflect on several powerful questions as we serve together. We are truly sent to be ambassadors for Christ and to bring transformation; as we do, our Savior needs to be supremely evident in our relationships with one another. I’m grateful for their work in providing tangible steps for each of us to grow more in the image of Christ.

  — BRENT MCHUGH , International Director, Christar International

Authors

• Sue Eenigenburg
  Sue Eenigenburg

  Sue Eenigenburg has been in cross-cultural ministry since 1986 and lived on four different continents. She is married to Don. Their clan includes four children, their spouses, and twelve grandchildren. She is the author of Screams in the Desert and More Screams, Different Deserts. Sue co-authored Expectations and Burnout, Sacred Siblings, and Grit to Stay Grace to Go. Sue likes playing word games, reading mysteries, and eating chocolate.

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• Suzy Grumelot
  Suzy Grumelot

  Suzy Grumelot’s degrees are in bible and missions. She has served with World Team in urban church planting in France for the past 30+ years. In 2012, with French partners, a historic new church was birthed in central Paris. In addition to discipling women and overseeing Bible studies, Suzy is involved with networking, prayer, and mentoring of both new believers and new church planters. She also serves on the executive team of Shoulder-to-Shoulder. She enjoys reading, listening to music, long walks, deep fellowship, and time with her nieces and nephews.

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