Marriage 911 is a tool to help couples in your church thrive in Christ. To get started, you’ll need to recruit a lead couple to oversee the program in your church.
Because the lead couple will influence many others in your church, we recommend the following steps:
Define the Qualities Needed
Consider the couple’s marital experience, communication skills, organizational skills, empathy, and the ability to provide wise counsel to couples in crisis. Look for these qualities:
- Spiritual maturity
- Regular church attendance and participation
- Growth and health in their marriage
- Transparency about their growth and struggles as a couple
- Team leadership skills
- Strong communication skills
- Strong administrative skills and a willingness to track down details
- Emotional intelligence: empathy, discernment, willingness to keep confidences
- A teachable spirit and one that is willing to stay under authority
- A willingness to be interrupted and and acceptance that those interruptions come from God
Communicate the Opportunity
Spread the word about your upcoming Marriage 911 program and let your church body know you’re looking for a couple to oversee it. Promote it in your weekly texts and bulletins, in announcements from the stage, and by contacting potential candidates directly.
Dedicate Resources
If your church wants to reach couples in crisis, dedicate time, money, and support – just as you would for any core ministry outreach in your church.
- Dedicate Spiritual Resources – Pray for your Marriage 911 mentors regularly. Make sure they are being cared for spiritually. Invest in them as you do other ministry leaders in your church.
- Dedicate Financial Resources – Outline the expenses you’ll need to cover as well as the resources you’ll need to acquire. Determine how much the church is willing to pay for Marriage 911 materials. Decide how much mentee couples should pay for workbooks. While we encourage churches to buy the workbooks, we believe mentees should pay a part of the cost so they’ll feel invested in the work. You may also want to consider adjusting the cost of the workbooks so that lower income couples or couples in financial crisis are not excluded from the outreach.
- Dedicate Tech Resources – Dedicate a secure file or location for record keeping. In addition, let your church tech team know of upcoming meetings so that they can support your Marriage 911 efforts.
Screen the Candidates
Interview couples and ask them about their skills/qualifications. Ask how they’ve handled a marriage crisis or a significant relationship problem. If, after your search and screenings, you haven’t yet found the right candidates, consider a long-term training approach in your church. Start a marriage class or a small group so that you can observe couples. Look for those who meet the qualifications of a lead mentor, and invest in them. Strong marriages don’t happen overnight. Give God time to work.
Train the Couple
Once you have selected a lead couple, provide the necessary training and resources needed for the role. We’ve created a series of training videos to explain Marriage 911 and prepare leaders for some of the challenges they’ll face. Download the training videos using the QR code provided on the inside cover of the Marriage 911 Training Guide.
Evaluate the Program
Check the effectiveness of your Marriage 911 program. Are mentor couples being trained? Are couples in crisis being helped? Ask your lead mentors to report back regularly on the health and effectiveness of the program.
Because the role of lead mentor couple is such a significant position, we encourage you and your leadership team to take the time to find the right people for the job. Support them well. Healthy couples lead to a healthy church, so remember that you’re looking for a couple with a heart to serve others.
