Lake Avenue Church has three programs for connecting couples with trained and experienced couples that are further down the road of life and marriage.
marriage ministry marriage ministries
Premarital
For couples seriously dating or engaged, this program focuses on addressing key marital issues before you are married, as well as encouraging you in your relationship. You meet 2:2 with a mentor couple, or with a mentor couple and several premarital couples in a small group, in bi-weekly or monthly meetings as the couples work through the book “Things I Wish I’d Known Before We Got Married,” by nationally known author, Gary Chapman who has more than 40 years of experiencing counseling couples before and during marriage.
Enrichment/Marriage Coaching
For couples of any age who want their marriage to be enhanced, LAC’s Marriage Coaching program matches you with another couple who meets with you once or twice a month to work through a curriculum, share life experiences, and provide encouragement, support and prayer for you and your marriage. The program utilizes a curriculum developed by Biola University’s Center for Marriage & Relationships, which uniquely combines the timeless wisdom of Scripture, scholarly marriage research and a variety of tools and skill for strengthening marriages.
See Curriculum
Reparative/Hope4Marriage Mentoring
For couples who could use some help, or who are experiencing difficulties in their marriage, LAC’s Hope 4 Marriage Mentoring program is a focused experience involving 12 weekly meetings with an experienced mentor couple. The curriculum will address such issues as baggage, forgiveness, communication, conflict and more. There will be weekly homework to practice what was discussed. Efforts of the couple, in combination with the biblical and relationship-based curriculum, the support, encouragement and prayer of a mentor couple, and the power of the Holy Spirit has repeatedly proven to bring dramatic transformation and renewal to marriages. See Curriculum
Next Steps
For couples interested in Premartial Mentoring, Marriage Coaching, or Hope4Marriage Mentoring, please complete the Marriage Mentoring/Coaching Questionnaire (each spouse should complete a separate questionnaire. For premarital couples, answer in the context of your current relationship). Then the program leaders will contact you, and send you a link to the Prepare Enrich Assessment (the most widely used marital assessment). After reviewing both the questionnaires and PE assessment, we will contact you regarding the matching process.
Questions concerning either program can be addressed to Pastor Bill Mead ( or 626.817.4882).
Cost
$30
Materials for all programs
$35
Additional Cost for Prepare Enrich Assessment
Marriage Mentoring/Coaching Questionaire
Marriage Coaching Curriculum
- Healthy Communication
- Conflict Management
- Setting Expectations
- Similarities and Managing Differences
- Gratitude
- Forgiveness
- Emotions
- Listening
- Sexual Intimacy
- Spiritual Intimacy
Research shows coached couples have marriages that are happier and healthier, with more contentment, passion, joy and resilience along with a deeper and more profound faith-based connection.
Hope4Marriage Mentoring Curriculum
The Christ-centered curriculum was designed and refined over a period of 15 years with more than 300 couples, and includes material on:
- The Spirit Filled Life
- God’s Design for Marriage
- Biblical Responsibilities for Husbands and Wives
- Deception and Truth
- How to Manage Family and Historical “Baggage”
- Confession and Forgiveness
- Communication Skills
- Conflict Resolution Techniques
- Dealing with Personality Differences
- Commitment and Goal Setting
Over the course of the program, the mentored couple builds their vertical relationship with God and their horizontal relationship with one another, as they gain skills and tools for a fulfilling marriage. The weekly meetings are about 90 minutes, with another 90 minutes required each week for individual and couple homework.
Assessments conducted at program inception and completion have revealed significant improvements in many areas including Overall Marital Satisfaction, Relationship Dynamics, Communication, Conflict Resolution, Partner Style and Habits, Financial Management, Sexual Relationship, Family and Friends, Roles and Responsibilities, and Forgiveness. In addition, “Graduates” have noted the special value of working with a caring and skilled mentor couple weekly, over several months in a “life on life” relationship, including the very meaningful lessons learned as the mentor couple shares their relational challenges, mistakes, and life lessons, as well as their suggested strategies for a healthy and vitalized marriage.