Susan Yates
Biography
Susan Yates
Susan Yates is well respected for her light-hearted, yet instructive perspective on the challenges families face in a post-modern culture. She has authored thirteen books, including AND THEN I HAD TEENAGERS: ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PARENTS OF TEENS AND PRETEENS, AND THEN I HAD KIDS: ENCOURAGEMENT FOR MOTHERS OF YOUNG CHILDREN, and 31 DAYS OF PRAYER FOR MY TEEN. She also served as the parent-child columnist for Today’s Christian Woman magazine for ten years. Susan speaks nationally and internationally on marriage and family and is a frequent guest on FamilyLife Today and other radio shows.
After graduating from the University of North Carolina with a B.A. in political science, Susan served with Campus Crusade at the University of Georgia and then as Assistant Dean of Students at Westminster Choir College, Princeton, NJ. She married John Yates, also the author of many books, in 1969. Since 1979, he has served as the senior pastor of The Falls Church in Falls Church, Virginia, a historic church in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. with approximately 4000 members. John and Susan are speakers together at FamilyLife’s Weekend to Remember® marriage conferences throughout the country.
Susan and John have also collaborated on several books, including CHARACTER MATTERS: RAISING KIDS WITH VALUES THAT LAST and BUILDING A HOME FULL OF GRACE, a work that drew on the insights of the entire Yates family. Her work has elicited praise from a diverse group of prominent Christian figures including John Stott, Os Guinness, Joe White, Bill and Lynne Hybels, Gary Smalley, John Trent, Lisa Welchel, and also a host of everyday moms who have said simply, “She gets me!”
In her newest book, BARBARA AND SUSAN’S GUIDE TO THE EMPTY NEST: DISCOVERING NEW PURPOSE, PASSION, AND YOUR NEXT GREAT ADVENTURE (April 2008), co-authored with her good friend Barbara Rainey, Susan contemplates the nature of her writing and speaking ministry. “When I look back over my life and reflect on the group of people I have been consistently the most passionate about, a common theme emerges --- the next generation,” she muses.
“John and I began our ministry working with junior and senior high students. Then our kids came along,” Susan continues. “When we had five babies --- including a set of twins --- in seven years, I was overwhelmed by sleep deprivation, feelings of inadequacy, and amazement at the intensity of my love for each child. Later, as I graduated from diaper-changing, my heart went out to young mothers of babies. After our kids moved through the teen years, I felt compelled to encourage parents of teenagers. This passion for the next generation continues today as I focus on young families.”
John and Susan are the proud parents of five children and eleven grandchildren. They are especially grateful for the five great kids their children have married. The couple makes their home in Falls Church, Virginia.
Susan Yates
