Sarah Flannery

Assistant Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy

Sarah Flannery joined Louisville Seminary's faculty in 2025. She holds a master's in Family Studies from the University of Kentucky and a bachelor's degree in English from Asbury University. She is a doctoral candidate in Marriage and Family Therapy at Eastern University, working on a dissertation exploring the lived experience of fathers of preadolescent children. She has taught classes in Christian ministry, Bible study, marriage in ministry, abuse and trauma, and human sexuality at Asbury University and Louisville Seminary.

Sarah's scholarship contributes to the field of fatherhood studies and scholarship on preadolescence. She argue that the preadolescent ages of 10-12 constitute a distinct stage which functions as a window of opportunity for clinicians, caregivers, pastors, and all professionals who work with young people to invest in their lives. Fathers are an under-explored population in academic research, and Sarah is working to elevate their voices as members of the family system.

Sarah has authored two books on ministry, published through Abingdon Press. The Six Secrets of Preteen Ministry (2018) both parents and pastors in the needs and abilities of preadolescent children, emphasizing the distinct life stage achievements of this age group. The Children and Family Ministry Handbook (2020) is geared toward family ministry professionals and serves as a comprehensive guide for navigating the challenges of families representing age, gender, sexual, and racial diversity.

As part of her doctoral training, several exciting academic and scholarly paths and worlds have opened for her. She has participated in collaborative scholarship, at both a national and international level, aiming for global involvement and visibility. She has attended and presented at scholarly conferences in places such as Denver, San Antonio, San Diego in the United States; Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands in Europe; and South Africa. She has also served as a contributing voice to a commentary project on the letter of James. Currently, she has been invited to work on two book projects: global interpretations on family and families from within the New Testament, as well as a Paul in Africa project.

Teaching brings me to live in a way that nothing else has. The moments of connection and mutual transformation in the classroom are the highlights of my career, and I find that students in marriage and family therapy are eager in their pursuit of those experiences. Surrounded by artificial intelligence, dystopian governmental policy, soaring poverty, and escalating racial, sexual, gender, ability, and age discrimination, the work of preparing courageous, healthy pastors and therapists is holy work. I am honored to serve in these efforts alongside the illustrious faculty and staff at Louisville Seminary.
—Sarah Flannery