Allow us to introduce ourselves. We’re Marty & Sandy Boller.

We have been actively involved in pastoral ministry since 1985. Married in 1975 in Skokie, IL, we were participants with the beginnings of what is now the Evanston, IL Vineyard Church. Yes, that’s Sandy & Marty, drinking coffee, right there in the middle of this picture (below) of one of the first Sunday morning gatherings in January 1976!

Later on, we also planted two Vineyard churches in Iowa: Iowa City (1988) and Cedar Rapids (1998). We have four grown children, all married, with seven adorable grandchildren. And in truth, it’s our family that gives us our greatest sense of accomplishment and our truest joy in life!

Over the years, Marty has written two books on Christian discipleship; The Perfected Self (2002) and The Wisdom of Wimber: As I See It (2014) (Read more); and here on this website, we host our blogs and podcasts, a popular resource that now has nearly 150,000 hits since our humble beginnings just a few years back. (Read more).

Now, after 30 years in pastoral ministry, we are embarking on a new phase of life and ministry. We call it our adventure into Christ-centered 3-C contemplative activism. And it all began a few years back when God began challenging us on our traditional ways of doing church and making disciples for Jesus. Today, we no longer see ourselves as 3-B pastors working in traditional church settings, but more of what author Eugene Peterson defines as “contemplative pastors”…pastoral shepherds following Jesus into an ancient yet refreshingly-new lifestyle of ministry that focuses on the care and cure of souls utilizing the tools and disciplines of spiritual formation and spiritual direction (Read more).

We are now spreading the vision of contemplative activism through our work as spiritual directors and in training and supervising others in spiritual direction with the Sustainable Faith School of Spiritual Direction. It’s here, we serve the larger body of Christ as contemplative coaches and spiritual directors to all who are looking to benefit from the absolute joys of receiving and offering spiritual direction. Soul Encounter is just another extension of this exciting ministry of bringing the tools of Christ-centered spiritual formation to more and more folks across North America.

Thank you for visiting our website.

We invite you to join the growing conversation on how we, in our stressed-out, over-the-top-busy society, can slow down just a bit, take a long loving look at our God, and begin to live out the Spirit-directed life Jesus of Nazareth has intended for all of us to live. We look forward to hearing from you and all God is doing in and through your life!

Would you prayerfully consider becoming a sustaining friend of our ministry? CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO.

If you are receiving spiritual direction or coaching from us, know that the standard “going rate” for many spiritual directors/supervisors for monthly one-hour sessions is approximately $60 – $75 per session, but we never charge a set price for our services, and ask you to prayerfully donate an amount that seems fair and right to you, and one that is workable in your financial situation.

You can click on the link below to make your contribution/donation via PayPal…