Starting Off Right: Your First Few Years in Marriage Ministry (Part 2)

by Ted Lowe and Doug Fields

If you want to help the married couples in your church but don’t know where to start, you are not alone. While marriage ministry is not new, churches having a holistic approach for marriages is. Before you read on, we suggest you read Part 1 of Starting Off Right. Once you have completed steps one through four, it is time to move on to steps five through seven.

Step Five: Re-Gather for the “all-in” planning session
We suggest you plan some extended time to reconnect with the key leaders on your marriage team and “stack hands” on moving forward. Affirm those who return to this all-in meeting and thank God for the team that is going to serve marriages in and outside of your church. Then take these leaders through the remaining steps in this blog post and the ones in Part 3 of this series.

Step Six: Determine “Phase 1” Strategy
If you’re planning on using the MarriedPeople Strategy, you can check it out at http://ift.tt/1cHTchG. This will help you determine the environments you want to create and the pace at which you may wish to implement them. If you are not using the MarriedPeople Strategy, obviously you’ll have to determine your next steps. Whichever direction you choose, please know that we will be cheering you on, and that we’re happy to help you as well as to learn from you. Your approach may be just as good or better than ours.

Step Seven: Determine Core Content
What are the few, most important principles or teachings you want your church to embrace about marriage? There are many ways to say the same thing; our content, the Core 4 Habits (link to homepage), aren’t your only option. Remember an important principle: if you teach less, people may actually learn more.

Here are some questions that may serve as warning signs. As you look at content, ask yourself:

• Does the material contain too much for people to absorb?
• Is it male friendly? 
Will it require a dictionary to get through it—too clinical or complicated?
• 
Is it too churchy—filled with words and terms that non-church people won’t recognize?

Seven done, four more steps to go. How are you doing so far? Got any questions we can help you with? If so, email us at info@marriedpeople.org.

And make sure you join us next Tuesday for the final post in this series.

 

This series of blog posts is excerpted from the book, Married People, How Your Church Can Build Marriages That Last. For more helpful tips on starting a marriage ministry, click here.

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