Thank you for committing to serve as a Marriage 911 lead mentor couple! You’re now part of a select group of leaders who serve Christ in their local churches by helping couples in crisis.
This step-by-step checklist will help you and your leadership team launch the Marriage 911 ministry in your church. The list was created with the help of R.G. and Karen Yallaly, Lead Mentors at Woodland Hills Family Church in Branson, Missouri. In addition to their many years of service at Woodland Hills, the Yallalys have helped several churches around the country start Marriage 911 ministries.
Step 1: Ask Your Senior Pastor to Endorse the Program
Your senior pastor’s support and endorsement lend credibility to your Marriage 911 program and encourages couples to participate as mentors and mentees. The senior pastor also has access to resources that can help the program succeed, such as funding, familieis, and staff. Without the senior pastor’s help, your Marriage 911 program may struggle to gain traction and achieve its goals. involve your senior pastor early in the planning stages and ask for their help in three specific areas:
- Preach, teach, and proclaim the importance of marriage and healthy relationships.
- Lead by example. Encourage your pastor to make marriage a priority.
- Provide an environment that nurtures and grows healthy marriages by being transparent about their marriage challenges and by talking about times they’ve sought help. Pastors may also invite couples to the pulpit to share their marriage testimonies. Transparency creates a safe environment and encourages hurting couples to ask for help.
Step 2: Recruit and Train Mentor Couples
As the lead mentor couple, it is your responsibility to identify and recruit mature couples who have a strong, healthy marriage and are willing to serve as mentors. In addition to a healthy, Christ-centered marriage, the ideal Marriage 911 mentor has a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, attends church regularly, is available – and has the heart – to champion godly marriages and is willing to follow through with the 16-week commitment.
Mentor couples must complete either the in-person or video-based Marriage 911 training from Focus on the Family. You and your mentors are also welcome to contact Focus on the Family for a free phone consultation with a licensed Christian counselor if you need help while working with mentee couples.
Step 3: Review Policies and Procedures
The Marriage 911 Training Guide contains the policies and procedures in parts 3, 4, and 5. Make sure mentors are trained to follow these procedures – especially those about responsibilities, confidentiality, and domestic violence.
Step 4: Implement an Intake Process
When a couple requests Marriage 911 mentoring, the lead mentor should follow up within 24 hours. This highlights one of the most important aspects of the Marriage 911 program – the speed at which couples can access help. Most Christian counselors or intensive marriage counseling programs like Hope Restored have a waitlist for new clients.
Pastors and church staff are often overwhelmed with counseling requests. However, Marriage 911 is an emergency room for couples. As such, it requires a “quick response team” that can answer emails and phone calls within 24 hours of receiving a couple’s request. We can’t stress enough the need for a quick response. We’ve learned that by the time a couple reaches out for help, their marriage struggle has turned into a crisis. And when they call for help, they need it right away.
Step 5: Launch the Program
Once you’ve done the necessary preparation, launch your Marriage 911 program with a clear plan that includes:
- Training and orientation for the mentoring team.
- Intake process for mentee couples.
- Processes to match mentors and mentees.
- Guidelines for communication.
Step 6: Evaluate and Adjust
Inspect what you expect. Evaluate your Marriage 911 program and adjust as needed to improve its impact. Encourage and incorporate feedback from mentors and mentees so that the program continues to meet their needs. Celebrate success! And don’t fear failures – use them as learning and growth opportunities.
