Marriage Ministry Guide

This resource is much more than a mere leader's guide for the Focus on the Family Marriage Series; it is a manual for developing and sustaining a ministry to marriages in your church and community. With marriages in our culture-and even the Church- in dire straits, there is a desperate need for the Church and it's leaders to stand in the gap for families and marriages. Gleaned from ministries around the nation, this manual contains information on how and where to begin, types of ministry settings, staffing and organization of the ministry. It also includes basic information on learning styles and how to teach adults, develop lessons and encourage discussion. It will also include reproducible forms, publicity aids and clip art, as well as a listing of additional resources.

Healthy marriages do not simply happen, though our culture's marriage landscape suggests otherwise. Married couples need a strong foundation that the majority of people cannot build on their own. How can ministers best prepare engaged couples for the altar? And how can ministers help provide the needed material for healthy growth among married couples in their cultures? Marriage Ministry: A Guidebook by noted pastors, authors, and seminar leaders Bo Prosser and Charles Qualls provides a ready help for ministers who provide premarital counseling, perform wedding ceremonies, and generally care for married couples and their families. Full of information and ideas that encourage conversation, communication, and interaction, this book will help ministers respond to the many needs of couples in the church. Whether your ministerial needs are with the newly married, the successfully married, or the struggling married, Marriage Ministry will surely help you help them.

“I am a well-loved wife.” Is this something your wife would say? Here’s your guide to making those words a reality in your marriage. What do women want? This question has stumped the greatest male minds for centuries. Of course, if you’re married, a much better question is, “What does your wife want?” As Darrin and Amie Patrick reveal in this profoundly practical and transformational book, God designed your wife to want—to need—to be loved. And that design is an invitation for you to love her deeply, intentionally and passionately. Practicing ten powerful actions—including listening, pursuing, and serving—will transform you into your wife’s lifelong champion and have her nominating you for the Husband Hall of Fame. The Dude’s Guide to Marriage is for guys who want to grow, who want clear steps to improving their marriage. It’s for men who want a marriage that thrives rather than just survives. Grab this guide, and get ready to be a better husband by becoming a better man.

This resource is much more than a mere leader's guide for the Focus on the Family Marriage Series; it is a manual for developing and sustaining a ministry to marriages in your church and community. With marriages in our culture--and even the church--in dire straits, there is a desperate need for the church and its leaders to stand in the gap for families and marriages. Gleaned from ministries around the nation, this manual contains information on how and where to begin, types of ministry settings, staffing, and organization of the ministry. It also includes basic information on learning styles and how to teach adults, develop lessons, and encourage discussion. It will also include reproducible forms, publicity aids, and clip art, as well as a listing of additional resources.

This clear and comprehensive guide addresses all that ministers need to know to about conducting weddings well. Ideal for curates, training incumbents, ordinands and those who teach them, it combines information on legal requirements, service planning, pastoral practice and hassle-free organisation together in one place. Topics include: • Procedural: the initial contact with a couple and the ground you need to cover; • Liturgical: service options and rules, choosing music and readings, the logistics of the day itself and conducting the ceremony; • Legal: what is required and how to be well organised with paperwork; • Missional: how marriage can be used to build up the Church; • Pastoral: how to deal with sensitive issues such a divorce and family differences.

Your church or ministry will greatly benefit from the information contained within this book. Learn a practical definition for marriage in the church as well as God's design for marriage. Look at the various stages of marriage and the different forms of marriage. And learn how to use the various components of ministry to marriage, including a structure that will greatly enhance your ministry mix. Topics include: Why marriage ministry? Components of marriage ministry Structuring marriage ministry Connecting points for marriage ministry

The Pastor's Manual is a marriage preparation and ministry resource for pastors and other church leaders for pre-marital counseling and for comprehensive marriage ministries including guidelines for training mentor couples, working with couples in groups, and relationship education for all ages. Includes everything you need to have a comprehensive marriage ministry: The Ministry of Marriage Preparation The Pastor's Role (expectations and perceptions; coaching and problem solving; experiences and attitudes) Theological Perspectives (personal responsibility and christian community; God's purposes for marriage; divorce and remarriage; marriage as vocation and covenant) Basic Goals for Marriage Preparation Ministries (religion, money, and sex; communication skills) Working with Couples First Session (wedding details, assessing the couple's preparation for marriage) Sessions with Individuals (premarital questionnaire responses, surfacing potential disagreements) Additional Sessions (finalizing wedding plans) Nurturing Marital Growth After the Wedding Mentor Couples (selecting and recruiting mentor couples; leadership team; training mentor couples) Marriage Preparation in Groups Comprehensive Marriage Ministries (relationship education for children, youth, and young adults; enrichment opportunities for married couples; support for couples in crisis) An extensive list of "Additional Resources" includes organizations and other marriage ministry programs that may be readily available and can be incorporated into local church and community ministries. Updates for these"Additional Resources, " a "Directory of United Methodist Marriage Ministry" leaders and consultants, a "Training Model" for use of GLCM, and other helps are available at www.marriagelovepower.net.

Creating Unity helps those who already feel the call to help build strong Christian marriages learn how to fulfill that calling. Over the last twenty-five years, Co-Pastors Angela Yousey and her husband, Chris Yousey, have hosted marriage conferences and provided biblical counseling for many couples. Their church, Spirit of Love Ministries, evolved from the many marriages they’ve helped. Within Creating Unity, Angela and Chris teach married men and women: The right and wrong ways to fight and reach the best resolution What they need to know to avoid financial stress in their marriage How kids win when they co-parent What every woman must have to be satisfied in her marriage What men long for but would never tell their wives The secrets to having great sex again