A Marriage Made in Heaven: How the Significance of Marriage Can Be Taught

Can churches teach the significance of marriage? Can churches teach the faithful about marriage and how to live lives of fulfillment that honor Christ in marriage? We believe the answer to this question is yes, but only if churches choose to take up this important ministry. Certainly churches have a powerful basis in the work of building marriages (Stanley, Markman, St. Peters, & Leber, 1995). First, at least in the United States, most couples seek to be married in churches. Second, the church has a formal, theologically based commitment to the institution. Third, churches have a longstanding affinity to education for the improvement of the lives of congregants both spiritually and relationally. The ongoing connection of people with a local congregation gives churches the ability to reach people at a wide range of developmental stages for meaningful ministry around marriage. These opportunities range from teaching youth about marriage (especially countering myths), helping couples prepare for marriage, helping couples in the transition to parenthood, and strengthening the spiritual and social lives of couples over the adult life span. To realize its potential, a church needs a theology of marriage and an operational theology of marriage ministry. We focus on those two elements here and then provide a detailed example from our work with the curriculum of cprep (Christian Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program).