Passionate Volunteers Fighting for Stronger Marriages
Since the end of the pandemic, we have had to focus on the essentials of marriage ministries. The demand for marriage help has been the highest I’ve ever seen. Our lay-led marriage ministries have come through in a big way. Because of volunteer time and donations, finances are never an obstacle to couples getting help. I am immensely grateful to the people that give and serve in marriage ministry.
Marriage Preparation Mentors
Our marriage mentorship ministry is a first-rate marriage preparation option in Central Alberta. Many couples I’ve coached through marriage challenges tell me that they wished that they had been a part of better marriage prep before they got married. The CrossRoads Church Marriage Prep program pairs mentors with couples that are about a year to six months from getting married. Mentors have a minimum of 5 meetings with these couples in the mentors’ homes. All couples complete an online relationship inventory which they then receive a report and a road map for preparing their relationship for marriage.
Engaged Encounter
Victory. Despite many set backs, Engaged Encounter is back and better than ever! Several couples came together at Camp Silversides for a weekend of learning, fun, and communication practice. The leaders remarked that there was a special chemistry between the couples this year. To continue the momentum of this influx, we will be ramping up the advertising and promotion of this event for April 2025. Similar to marriage mentors, this weekend provides premium marriage preparation to people in our church and in Central Alberta. As the participation increases, we are looking for a new couple to serve in this ministry. We are looking for a couple between 25 and 35 years old and have been married for 5+ years to join the mentorship team. It is important that the couple is committed to Christ and understands the vision of CrossRoads church. Preparation for this event begins in January. If you are interested, please contact me at barryo@crossroadschurch.ca.
Marriage Enrichment Weekend
Demand continues to surge for this marriage workshop weekend. This retreat has become a ‘register early if you want to get a spot’ event. This spectacular marriage ministry event is being planned to happen again in November 2024. The weekend takes place at Ghost River, in the Rocky Mountains. During this weekend, leaders share inspiring testimonies by which couples are moved. Additionally, couples learn new communication skills and get a chance to practice. The feedback from the weekend was overwhelmingly positive.
The Alpha Marriage Course
Below are some comments from our fall 2022 Marriage Course:
“I liked everything! The food, the people, the knowledge & tips, the getaway from the kids, the new tools to use in our conversations moving forward.”
“I am surprised that I cried at almost every session! Each session touched me deeply. And I didn’t even realize I was hurting in that area.”
The Marriage Course currently happens twice a year. The course takes place over seven weeks and is well attended. We continue to get people from all over Central Alberta because of the ads that we run on the radio.
Let’s Do More
Before the pandemic we had a part time staff member that would manage all of the registration, advertising, and facility bookings for marriage events. Volunteer leaders have stepped up in big ways to reboot the ministries that we had on pause for a couple years. Long term, we want to serve more people outside of our church. We want to help strengthen their marriages and we want to see many people come to faith in the process. Communication skills can only take a couple so far. Faith in Christ is the key to a generational change in families in Central Alberta. We would like to do so much more. In particular, we would like to offer some lower commitment, taste and see, marriage events. In the past we have called them Date Nights. Usually a night of humour, music, and inspiration that fills the Sanctuary. Right now, we are maxed out with the resources available to us but we would love to do more. I believe the main bottle-neck right now is the staff shortage. I see that there is also much more need and potential in Central Alberta. Please pray that God would provide us a way we could to do more.
Pastor Barry
