The United Church of God’s Marriage Enrichment Program was officially “rolled out” at the GCE meetings in Cincinnati on May 7, 2012.

The program will have three facets:

First, a video recorded program that can be used by pastors (or their designees) in the local church area—something similar to a marriage version of “Growing Kids God’s Way.” We are asking the pastors to purchase with their local church accounts “10 Great Dates” from Marriage Alive (see it online at www.marriagealive.com). The “10 Great Dates” curriculum includes a DVD of the program, a leadership guide and one workbook. At $40, the price is very reasonable. We have asked the ministry to make this program available to the members of our United congregations by having a sign-up to see how many are interested. The couples can choose to meet once a week, every other week or once a month for 10 sessions. Marriage Alive has found that meeting every other week produces the best results. The program is simple to use. All the couples meet together and listen to a 25-minute presentation from David and Claudia Arp. After that, each couple heads out on a date to discuss the lesson from that session. Each couple only needs to purchase one workbook for $11.

This program can be used by the pastor for the congregation every other year or every third year or as desired.

For the ministry, this can be a wonderful supplement for their marriage counseling. With the counseling, a pastor can assign “10 Great Dates” as a homework assignment. The couple being counseled can then take the DVD and work through the 10 lessons. They would need to order their own workbook. The couple can then follow up with the pastor to report their progress and/or ask questions.

Secondly, a UCG.org page is now operational for marriage-related material. This site includes subjects pertaining to marriage written by ministers and members of the United Church of God. Additionally, Bible-based articles from outside sources are included that can help the members strengthen their marriages. Ministers and members alike will then have information they can use at their discretion. Please check out this section on our website. Visit UCG.org, click on Topics and in the lower left box you will see “Husbands and Wives” link under “Marriage and Family.” Obviously, this part of our program is self-directed; you can go there at your choosing. There will be new material added to the website on a regular basis.

Thirdly, two-day marriage workshops are now available for congregations or circuits. This part of the marriage program is available upon request. If there is an interest, the pastor can send a request to Frank McCrady at frank_mccrady@ucg.org.

The preferred format is a “marriage retreat weekend.” We meet in a hotel. There would be marriage sessions Sabbath afternoon (the material is very biblical), with dinner that evening and homework assignments for each couple that night. We would have breakfast, and then the marriage workshop would start at 9:00 a.m. Sunday. We plan to be finished by 1:30 p.m. so that everyone can get home at a reasonable time.

We want this to be a “retreat” format so that there is a focus on the marriage. Participants don’t go home to the house or children, etc. It is also to be a “fun” time together. Most of the weekends will be scheduled months in advance so, if need be, money can be saved to prepare for the weekend. We will work with the pastor if there are any extenuating circumstances or questions.

What are the costs? The home office will pay the cost for the presenter—transportation, hotel and food. The couple pays for their own hotel and food. The church area picks up the cost of any printing that is necessary and audio-visual equipment.

The following locations have been scheduled for marriage workshops in 2012: Denver, June 9; St. Louis, July 14-15; Akron/Cleveland, Oct. 28-29; Spokane, Nov. 3-4; San Antonio, Nov. 10-11; and Nashville is presently being scheduled.

It is our greatest desire to be of assistance in helping our marriages to be the absolute best they can be; after all, our marriages represent Christ and the Church. Your prayers for the effectiveness of this marriage program would be greatly appreciated!