Why run The Marriage Courses?
Features:
Login and watch some short videos to help you get started.
You need The Marriage Course DVD with Leaders’ Guide and two guest manuals per couple. You can purchase these at the Shop.
- Find a venue
- Ask people to help you run the course
- Decide what/if to charge guests attending your course
- Budget for food and/or drinks and promotion
Use The Marriage Course leaders’ Resources for support to run your course. Think of ways to make your course feel like a fun 'date night' for your couples
Do a little information gathering ahead of time to find a counsellor in your area to whom you will you feel comfortable referring couples to if they need more specific professional help.
Who should I invite?
The Marriage Course is for any couple wanting to strengthen their relationship. It doesn’t matter if they have a strong relationship or are struggling or if they are married or cohabiting.
Think about inviting:
- Friends, family, neighbours and work colleagues
- Current and previous wedding and baptism candidates
- Community groups such as gym classes or mother & toddler groups
- If your church is running Alpha and/or The Parenting Courses, consider inviting current and past guests.
The most effective way to encourage guests to come on your course is to personally invite them.
Promotional materials such as postcard invitations and banners can help and are easy to use - they can help generate interest and spread the word about your course to those outside your personal network.
- Add your course details to our website here. Choose to promote your Alpha to thousands of people via our website and social media channels, resulting in increased guest attendance.
- Promote your course from the front of church with a fun video or by sharing from previous guests
- Give out invites and encourage everyone to invite one couple.
- Place posters and postcards in strategic locations such as coffee shops, gyms, crèches and libraries, etc
- Advertise the event on your church website and social media.
- Make sure the date, time, venue and contact information are clear on your communication. Give the course a final push the week before it starts, as many couples decide to book on at the last minute.
How can we use the Course as a sustainable strategy for spreading the gospel?
The Marriage Course helps churches develop a comprehensive strategy to spread the gospel starting from the family ministry and taking the next step with power in the community and between intergenerational bondings.
Easy to run, simple to learn
The Course contains a thorough package of resources, including training resources, course DVD, Leaders' Guide and Guest Journal. It is easy to learn, use and copy. Not only pastors but also leaders, in general, can easily run the Course.
Build a team to run continuously
The church may run their first Marriage Course for the core couples in the church. The Course runs once a week on a continuous basis since it values the relationship between the participants and the spirit of self-help and cooperation, instead of mere knowledge transfer. Thus, participants gain a sense of acceptance to the concept and effectiveness of the Course. By turning the consumer mentality of the participants into the mindset of supporters or helpers, they may become helpers, leaders or even the core members of the team in the next Course. They may also encourage friends and family to join the Course by telling them their experience of the Course. By then, the Course continues to bless more people.