To God be the Glory

Women looking for Scripturally faithful, theologically sound, church-supportive, practical-for-real-life Bible studies for individual or group use have come to the right place at Thistlebend Ministries.

—Donald S. Whitney, Professor of Biblical Spirituality; Associate Dean of The School of Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

I am happy to commend Falling in Love Again with Your Lord. It is robustly biblical, incredibly practical, and urgently needed. I have seen women in my own church be transformed by the contents in its pages. I pray that when you come to it, seeking Jesus by faith, you will experience that same transformation.

—Heath Lambert, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida; former Executive Director of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC).

Discipleship is often neglected in our busy pace of life even though we know our sanctification suffers as a result. Enter Thistlebend Ministries! How refreshing it is to see all this excellent program offers to women seeking to “grow in spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,” just as the Apostle Paul prayed for the church at Colossae. Using a meticulously organized curriculum that even includes varying levels of commitment, these studies can be used in a wide variety of ways ranging from a one-on-one mentoring relationship to a large group of eager disciples seeking to draw nearer each day to our Lord. Laurie’s winsome and engaging teaching style reflects her genuine love for the Lord Jesus and joyfully spurs her listeners on to dig deeper into the Bible’s inexhaustible truth. The beautifully presented workbooks and many online helps only serve to make this transformational curriculum even more appealing. May the Lord continue to use Thistlebend Ministries to change hearts one by one and multiply its benefits as those same women passionately seek to disciple other women to God’s glory alone.

—Mary K. Mohler, President’s Wife, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Director, Seminary Wives Institute; Author, Growing in Gratitude and Susannah Spurgeon: Lessons for a Life of Joyful Eagerness in Christ

I really cannot say enough about the team at Thistlebend Ministries. These are dear and serious saints who are committed not in the least to building their own kingdom or “publishing empire,” but to providing resources for the use and good of the local church. As the pastor of a local church, I’m deeply familiar with the frustration of having to watch men and women under my care be swept away by books and “programs” that are selfish at best and unbiblical at worst. But I’m thrilled to say that in Thistlebend Ministries, I’ve found a set of resources and a group of partners who will be a great help in discipling the women who are members of my church—not a hindrance to that goal, and not in competition with it. If you’re looking for discipleship tools for women that are theologically sound, biblically solid, and spiritually insightful, I don’t think you’ll do better than Thistlebend resources.

— Greg Gilbert, Senior Pastor, Third Avenue Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky; Author, What Is the Gospel?

“The whole aim of Thistlebend: to assist women to love Christ, and to explain what this love looks like in everyday life, in the practical, nitty-gritty of everyday life.”

—Thomas R. Schreiner, The James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Thistlebend is doing a great job of providing deep, theologically sound and practical Bible study resources for women. They are meeting a real need in the Church for study materials that are both Substantive and Accessible.”

—Ed Dunnington, President of PCA Retirement & Benefits; Former PCA Pastor, Covenant Theological Seminary

“I highly commend Laurie’s eye-opening writing and teaching ministry. Her material is powerful, practical, insistent, insightful, fresh, life-affecting, spiritually transforming, and always God-centered and Christ-focused. It is written not so much for head knowledge as for heart transformation. It is very effective.” —Leonard G. Goss, former editorial director/senior acquisitions editor, B&H Publishing Group

“Thistlebend studies connect you to the transformational power of God’s Word. Designed for individual or group study, they help you meditate on and apply biblical truth. These studies center on Scripture while also introducing you to theologians of the past and present.”

— Stephen T. Estock, Coordinator, PCA Discipleship Ministries (CDM)

Our women’s ministry exists to build a culture of women who are connected to Jesus and to one another, and who are actively involved in the mission of Christ in all of life. Having tried a number of different things for our women to provide a means for them to be in Scripture, we found that Thistlebend materials allow for both deeply entrenching our women in the Word through study and worship of God, but they also provide a heart connection with the Word practically, to learn better how they live out what they believe on a daily basis. Seeking for our women to have some structured time for authentic discipleship discussion around God’s Word has also been a desire of our ministry because we want genuine community for our women and mentor relationships to form. We believe Thistlebend is providing an outlet for that through their material. Thistlebend has directly helped us live out our mission and why we exist for our women and therefore, it is directly impacting our entire church body, and we just cannot be more thankful.

— Chelsey Adkinson, Women’s Ministry of Fellowship Church, Louisville, KY

I highly recommend Thistlebend resources if you are wanting your women to grow spiritually and be challenged in the application of the Word in their lives. I love the Thistlebend studies because it targets the root issues in our hearts which is what every word and action flows out of.

— Cherilyn Magee, pastor’s wife, Oak Grove Church

Thistlebend studies have inspired me to dig deeper into the Word and convicted me to re-examine myself and my walk with the Lord. I have completed four studies and have grown immensely. I highly recommend Thistlebend!

—Cari Morse, Women’s Ministry Leader, Potterville, Michigan

Having Laurie Aker, with Thistlebend Ministries, speak, teach and fellowship with our Women of Grace Covenant was truly a treat!  She challenged us to really examine our motives and actions…while providing scripture based responses to those.  Her teaching is thorough, yet easy to understand, sprinkled with personal stories from her life experiences, and always based on God’s Word. If you are looking for an in-depth study or a fabulous guest speaker for your women…. I would highly recommend her!

—Danica Coyle, pastor’s wife, Grace Covenant Church, Las Cruces, New Mexico.