50 years of marriage and ministry
An interview with Al and Audrey Saunders

Al and Audrey Saunders began their pastoral ministry together in 1963, a year after getting married. Today, they’re looking back on 50 years of both marriage and ministry – including pastoral and counselling positions, raising a family and helping launch Focus on the Family Canada’s Clergy Network – and are more in love than ever before.

The Saunders served in six different churches between 1963 and 1993, often times developing ministries to support marriages and families as well as relationships in general. Later on, Al became a certified pastoral counsellor and Audrey a lay pastoral counsellor. Al also served as the national coordinator of adult ministries for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada for almost 10 years. In the midst of all that, they also managed to raise a family.

We had the honour of chatting with the Saunders as they reflect on five decades of marriage and ministry. Read on to learn about the role ministry played in their marriage, the biggest challenges they faced along the way and their advice to couples considering a lifetime of ministry together.