FAQS: Frequently Asked Questions
TRAININGS:
Our Church already has a program for marriages why would we jump into this program? The Healthy Marriage Initiative is not a program it's a movement to impact the marriages of Palm Beach County. If you are already answering the 10 components of the Initiative then you are already a strategic partner. However, there may be a component that you have not addressed yet and we can be of assistance.
What is required of a Marriage Champion?
Marriage Champion Orientations are designed to be a strategic session either on the phone or in person by one of our team members. That will take a look at what your church is currently doing for marriage and help you create a strategy to hit all 10 components of the Healthy Marriage Initiative (i.e. It could be that you only need help with a stepfamily strategy, so that's how we will train you). The goal is to develop a strategy that will help your church impact marriages and families in your community.
Prepare/Enrich Certification is a 6 hour certification on the Prepare/Enrich Assessment. This is a requirement for all Marriage Champions in order to recieve an active license to use Prepare/Enrich with your congregation. We offer serveral certifications throughout the year. The cost for this certification is $150 which covers your training material, certification, & lunch.
Does our church need Prepare/Enrich Certification? Many pastors have been certified on this Assesment. If so then your church can operate under your pastors certification number. If not then we recommend that your identified Marriage Champion go to this valuable Certification.
Should our Church have more than one certification? Typically the answer to that is no. It is always best to run all of your churches assessments under one number. However, there is tremendous value to having multiple Marriage Champions within a congregation with this training.
Can a Marriage Champion Couple attend the training? Yes, there is no cost for a spouse to attend, however there will be only one name attached to the certification.
How long are the Marriage Mentor trainings?
Marriage Mentor Training is a 4 hour training that you can host at your church. We have a team of 8 different couples that are experienced mentors and carry the passion and vision to help you implement a mentoring ministry in your church.
What training will we be receiving? We will be training your mentors on the "Prepare/Enrich" relationship assessment. It is one of several tools that churches use to help identify areas of agreement between couples. For more info on this assessment you can check it out online at www.lifeinnovations.com. We will also use supplemental resources that we have picked up along the way: PAIRS, Love and Respect, Preparing for Marriage, and 5 Love Languages, Marriage 911, and step family.
What if our church uses another assessment? There are many similarities between Prepare/Enrich and Refoccus. These are the two most common assessments. We will review what you are already using with your Marriage Champion to determine both effectiveness and our approach to training. For many churches this is a total shift from the Pastor leading the premarital counseling to a group of trained mentors taking up the counseling. We will customize a training that will work for your situation.
How much does this really cost us? We are not funded by a grant or any other source. We have trained up 8 training teams that are just passionate about marriage. They have spent their own resources and time to prepare to serve your church. There is a cost involved only with material from "Prepare/Enrich" for your marriage mentor training manual. We are working with them now to negotiate a minimal expense for this initiative. (approximately $30 per couple)
What does it cost us not to do this initiative? I ask you this question, "Pastors, how valuable is your time?" What would happen if we placed some of the most time consuming ministry that you do into the hands of a specialized team within your church that cared deeply about marriage? You would start a Marriage Revolution that would not only service the immediate needs of those preparing for marriage, but would enrich the very marriages of the Marriage Mentors themselves.
MARRIAGE MENTORING:
What is so strategic about the "Marriage Mentor" approach?As a Pastor nothing is more time consuming than getting in the middle of counseling sessions with couples who are facing some tough spots in life. With mentoring we help you identify and train up couples within your own church who can help you shoulder the load and be the "body of Christ" to the area of marriage. Most churches do not have the funding to have a dedicated Pastor of Marriage. We have to rely on our Marriage Champions to help us create a viable structure to impact the marriages around us. If you take a great marriage in your church and have them help prepare, enrich, and restore other marriages in your church it accomplishes two things: takes care of the immediate need and it truly enriches the life of the marriage mentors as well. This is one of the only ministries that "gives back" to a couple as they reach out to help another couple.
In many churches that have implemented strong mentoring programs they have seen 30% of their couples determine to not get married. This is a significant success in saving marriages as we let them experience both foundational teaching on marriage combined with the self awareness of their object assesment.
PALM BEACH COUNTY HEALTHY MARRIAGE INITIATIVE:
What is so strategic about the PBCHMI? In a county with a 62.4% divorce rate we must do something strategic to create a new day for marriage. Right now less than 4 out of 10 couples in this county will remain married. This is an epidemic that will touch the very heart of your church. By coming together in this initiative we are acknowledging that it is time that the church embrace marriage and help create healthy standards to protect the institution of marriage. The culture around us has truly redefined marriage and cheapened the very institution that God has called us to honor and uphold.
Once we sign the PBCHMI then what? By signing the PBCHMI for your church or organization you are committing to the 10 components of the initiative and stating that you will do your best to implement and uphold these standards. This is not an overnight process. Many churches will need to review and put into place an actual "Marriage Policy" that will be the guiding document in their churches for marriage. Some will want to build an entire team to accomplish this process. Signing the document symbolizes that you desire to be part of this movement to save marriages in this county. By signing you will be able to recieve all the benefits of the trainings and begin to create a safe place for marriages in your congregation. Once a church has signed we will ask them to identify a "Marriage Champion" that we will work with from their congregation. The rest will happen with their team.
What does success look like? If the marriage rate in Palm Beach County over the last 5 years was 49,997 that is about 10,000 marriages each year. We have set a few goals that www.SouthFloridaMarriage.net would love to see happen:
- 100 Churches across Palm Beach County signing the PBCHMI (end of 2009).
- 1,000 Marriage Mentors being trained up by end of 2009 (with at least 10 couples from each church)
- 6,000 Marriage Mentor assignments by the end of the year 2009 (each of the 1000 mentors taking on 6 couples each year)
- 12,000 Marriage Mentor assignments by 2011 (essentially doubling the amount of mentors in 3 years.)
- Reducing the Divorce rate in Palm Beach County in 5 years!
Working together with these 100 churches over the next few years we can do something significant for marriage. Over the next 5 years we will see this staggering statistic drop.
What role does the SFACC have in this initiative? The SFACC stands for the South Florida Association of Christian Counselors. We are a not for profit association that exists to help network Pastors and local therapists. We also provide continuing education credits for therapists in Palm Beach County. SFACC has been the organizing force behind this initiative both with the creation of the awareness campaign and with the sponsorship of the website. Our desire is to help provide the initial leadership required to launch this initiative. For more info on SFACC you can visit our site at www.sfacconline.org. All Pastors can recieve a free clergy membership to our organization.