Why Marriage Mentoring?
Have you had a major life change- retirement, empty nest, after major illness, move/major job change, long distance relationships due to jobs, adding children, children becoming teenagers, etc.?
Have you experienced marriage stress- communication problems, feeling of growing apart such as “I don’t know what he or she wants anymore”, “It’s not as easy as it used to be”? Frequent expression of dissatisfaction (spouse works too much, doesn’t help, doesn’t understand my needs)?
If you and your spouse desire to reconnect with each other, Marriage Mentoring will help you do exactly that.
Marriage Enhancement Course
The course is a structured biblical experience that is personalized for each couple with content and duration adjusted as needed. A guide couple helps another couple to understand and practice GOD’s concepts for marriage. Unlike counseling which may explore past actions, this course concentrates on forward-looking, action-oriented content to strengthen the marriage.
The course is broken into 3 major topic areas: Personalization, GOD's Expectations, and Practical Ways to Implement GOD's Expectations. The content of each topic is briefly described below.
Personalization
Assessment – Online personality profile helps spouses enhance their connection and understand how to communicate with each other. Moves the Mentee couple towards a healthier relationship through a better understanding of each other’s strengths and communication preferences, Exercises will help the couple learn the Do's and Don’ts of communicating with their spouse based on their individual results from the Connect Assessment®.
GOD's Expectations
Covenant – Online personality profile helps spouses enhance their connection and understand how to communicate with each other. Moves the Mentee couple towards a healthier relationship through a better understanding of each other’s strengths and communication preferences, Exercises will help the couple learn the Do's and Don’ts of communicating with their spouse based on their individual results from the Connect Assessment®.
Commitment – The goal of this session is to help the couple understand the depth of God’s love and commitment to us and what it would look like to exhibit that same level of commitment in their marriage. Real commitment means making the best of the relationship through periods of uncertainty, financial woes, health issues, and even through the years of demands children place on it. Commitment to the covenant of marriage requires faith in God. While this type of faith can be one of the toughest concepts for your couple to accept, remember God will always reward those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).
Identity – The goal of this session is for the couple to understand that as Christians they have been given new identities because of what Christ did on the cross. Because of Christ's death, God no longer sees our sin; He sees Jesus. Comprehending who we are in Christ fundamentally changes a heart and soul, thereby changing how we live. This session emphasizes a full understanding of their identity in Christ which is key to understanding and accepting GOD’s intentions as explored in the next two sessions.
Forgiveness – Knowing our sins are forgiven and understanding God’s love for us are two of the most significant truths in the Bible. This session helps a couple understand their need for forgiveness from God and then in turn the command to forgive others as God has forgiven them. Forgiveness is one of those topics that impacts so many marriages. Often when working through the Conflict Resolution chapter it may show the couple are having trouble resolving conflict because they haven't fully embraced true, biblical forgiveness.
Holy Spirit – The goal of this session is to help a couple understand who the Holy Spirit is and what it looks like to live a life surrendered to and controlled by the Spirit. Many of us acknowledge the person of the Holy Spirit but fail to understand the power Jesus promised the believer in John 14:16-17. Jesus said that He would ask the Father to send another Counselor to be with us and that this Counselor would live with us and be IN us. This helps the couple to understand that as believers they have an advocate living in them whose power can help them to build the marriage they have always wanted.
Practical Ways to Implement GOD’s Expectations
Communication – The goal of this session is to help a couple learn to communicate with each other in a healthy way. The inability to communicate properly is a common reducer of a couple’s satisfaction with their marriage. A couple's communication style is largely impacted by the culture in which they live and by their family of origin. Helping them develop healthy communication will be essential for them to have a rewarding marriage.
Conflict Resolution – The goal of this session is to help a couple understand that the goal of resolving conflict is oneness in the marriage, not proving that they are right. Different ways a couple may currently attempt to resolve conflict will be examined and then healthier ways of reaching a resolution will be modeled. The couple will practice using the new conflict resolution skills that will change their marriage relationship.
Sexuality – The goal of this session is for a couple to develop a Godly perspective about sex. Depending on the culture they have grown up in, their families of origin, or their past experiences, a couple may have a widely differing perspectives of sex. This session guides them in using the skills learned in the previous 2 sessions to come to a common perspective on this topic.
Finances – The goal of the session is to help your couple begin to apply godly principles in their finances. Living in a culture today where we are encouraged to borrow and charge things to credit cards, it is crucial to gain a proper, Biblical perspective on how to handle finances. The session teaches the basics for a couple to use as they get out of debt and begin living within a budget. (Financial Peace can be used to supplement this section for more in-depth coverage)
Guiding Couple Recruitment – The goal of this session is to emphasize that completing couples make the best guides for future couples. Guiding is the best way to continue experiencing more growth in their marriage while helping other couples who desire to have the marriage God designed for us.